Last Chance

Munjebel FM Rouge 2016

Frank Cornelissen
The Feudo di Mezzo plot, from which this Munjebel red comes, is very large. It is divided into two parts: the sottana, the lower part, and the soprana, or Porcaria, which is the upper part. Although relatively lower than the estate's other plots, it produces wines of remarkable elegance. The soil is quite deep, which can pose ripening problems in wet years, but the plot benefits from good ventilation, which compensates for this drawback. This wine is all Burgundian elegance and roundness, even in hot years: it is characterized by its finesse and adapts to the most varied dishes.
Natural wine without added sulfites.

Le Carignan de la Source Rouge 2020,

Fond Cyprès
Languedoc to the tips of its nails, delicate, dense, and fresh, fruity and generous, all freshness and delicacy: a beautiful, lively and spicy bottle, with lovely notes of leather and undergrowth, and well-integrated tannins that don't attack the palate. Coming from a sixty-year-old limestone-marl Carignan plot, this wine, after hand-harvesting and destemming, is fermented for four weeks in concrete vats. The wine is then aged for twelve months in old demi-muids (barrels of 500 to 650 liters) which have the quality of not oaking the wine but ensuring a comfortable, gentle aging. With its ripe and evolved tannins, it offers great aging potential, but we can already start drinking it. A lively bottle, to be paired with everything that the western Mediterranean coast (Languedoc, Roussillon, Catalonia, Valencia region, etc.) has to offer. We obviously don't forget the region east of the Rhône: Provençal, Italian, Greek cuisines, etc. Keep for around ten years.

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This Languedoc estate is built on solid foundations: its two winemakers, Rodolphe and Laetitia, are also descendants of winemakers. Even before planting their first vine, they already had a clear objective: "to produce southern wines that reflect us, wines with character, attached to our soils, with freshness and refined tannins." They wanted to obtain entirely natural wines, concentrates of terroir. In the old Corbières massif, they took over an old heart of the estate already planted with abandoned Carignan and Grenache, which had not seen any fertilizer or pesticides for years: these clean and living soils were an ideal condition for launching into natural wine. Around this historic heart, they first planted Grenache Noir and Syrah, then a plot of white grape varieties: Viognier, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne. The estate has been Ecocert certified since 2010 and also complies with the Nature & Progrès charter. The vinification is done without the addition of sulfites or exogenous yeasts. "We make wines for pleasure," say Laetitia and Rodolphe. For them, natural wine is first assessed by taste, from the harvest. The vintages closely follow the plots, the musts are fruity, fluid, and complex. The wines of Fond Cyprès poetically evoke the estate's ecosystem and the vegetation that protects the plots: the pine forests, the shady springs, the beauty of the natural environment that brings freshness to the wines and leaves the signature of the soil. Deliciously balanced between mineral imprint, plant environment, and fruit expression, the wines of Fond Cyprès reflect the South of France: the caress of its sun, but also the freshness of its shadows.

Fond 1er Jus Rouge 2022

Fond Cyprès
Halfway between red and rosé—because its vinification involves both—the very drinkable Premier Jus is the very image of a delightful gurgling: a juicy bomb that oscillates between light red and dark rosé. Fresh, fruity, delicious, addictive, it awakens the mind dulled by the summer heat. It is the result of a blend of Carignan and Grenache purchased from a certified organic winemaker. The vines grow on marl-limestone soils. The harvests of the two grape varieties are processed separately: the Carignan is macerated for two days in whole bunches in a Grenache must in full fermentation, obtained by bleeding. Two days after the blending of the two varieties, everything is pressed directly. Thus, the beginning of vinification is for rosé and the end of vinification is for red. A six-month aging in stainless steel vats precedes bottling with an infinitesimal addition of sulfite to stabilize this fiery nectar.

To find out more
This Corbières estate is built on solid foundations: its two winemakers, Rodolphe and Laetitia, are also descendants of winemakers. Even before planting their first vine, they already have a clear objective: "to produce southern wines that reflect us, wines with character attached to our soils, with freshness and refined tannins." They want to obtain entirely natural wines, concentrates of terroir. In the heart of the old Corbières massif, they took over an old estate already planted with abandoned Carignan and Grenache vines, which had not seen any fertilizer or pesticides for years: these clean and vibrant soils were ideal conditions for launching into natural wine. Around this historic heart, they first planted Grenache Noir and Syrah, then a plot of white grape varieties: Viognier, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne. The estate has been Ecocert certified since 2010 and also complies with the Nature & Progrès charter. Vinification is carried out without the addition of sulfites or exogenous yeasts. "We make wines for pleasure," say Laetitia and Rodolphe. For them, natural wine is first assessed by taste, from the harvest. The vintages closely follow the plots, the musts are fruity, fluid, and complex. Fond Cyprès wines poetically evoke the estate's ecosystem and the vegetation that protects the plots: pine forests, shaded springs, the beauty of the natural environment that brings freshness to the wines and leaves the signature of the soil. Deliciously balanced between mineral imprint, plant environment and fruit expression, Fond Cyprès wines reflect the South: the caress of its sun, but also the freshness of its shadows.

Magnum Les Orgues Rouge 2019,

Frédéric Gounan
Fruit, minerality, straightforwardness, clean and flavorful red fruits, rounded and enhanced by the magnum format: the volcanic and mineral expression of basalt soils through Pinot Noir, unique to Auvergne, is incomparable. Les Orgues is a pure Auvergne Pinot Noir produced biodynamically on clay-limestone soils rich in granite and basalt. The harvest is crushed and vinified in whole bunches. Aging in barrels is thirty months. This wine calls for traditional hearty dishes, stews, soups with Fourme d'Ambert, pountis or sausages in brioche.

To find out more
Coming from a family of farmers established in the commune of Saint-Sandoux (Puy-de-Dôme) for at least two centuries, Frédéric Gounan was in his first life a mechanic and prototype creator for the French motorcycle brand Voxan, whose headquarters were in Issoire. He turned away from the industrial world to devote himself to wine with his partner Caroline. He intends to take advantage of the magnificent terroirs of his native village, far from "pissing the vines", as was done in the past: he notes that everything that comes from this land has exceptional taste qualities. He took over plots of Gamay from Auvergne, planted other grape varieties, and ended up producing vintages that are among the tastiest and most sought-after in Auvergne. On this land of the Chaîne des Puys, Pinot Noirs grow on black basalt soils, while Sauvignons and Pinot Gris grow on white clay-limestone soils with basalt pebbles. A fan of organic and biodynamic farming, Frédéric also applies methods that he considers appropriate to the climate and terroir: to facilitate photosynthesis in this harsh and contrasting climate, he practices lyre trellising, which allows the vines' foliage to be aerated and exposed to the sun, guaranteeing ripe fruit at harvest. Always a mechanic at heart, he makes his tools and tinkers with his tractors according to his needs. Its wines are rare and distinguished, highly sought after by connoisseurs: small estate (less than two hectares), small production (by volume, not by spirit).

Muscana Blanc 2020,

Domaine Einhart
Beautiful orange color with amber highlights, the initial nose displays typical aromas of overripe, slightly smoky Muscat berries. The second, very refined nose is accompanied by a hint of citrus, inviting further tasting. The attack, straightforward and very full, is marked by acidity blended into beautiful aromas of candied quince. The finish is invigorating, still with the melted tannins produced by maceration. Muscana, as its name suggests, is a Vin de France made from 100% Muscat grapes grown on the estate on oolitic limestone terroirs of the Muschelkalk type (plots located in Fleckenstein, Westerberg, and Meyen). The average age of the vines is 25 years. The harvest is manual and the grapes are destemmed. Maceration lasts four to six days with indigenous yeasts and aging takes place in stainless steel vats on fine lees, without filtration.

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Located in the northern part of the Alsatian vineyard, horizontally above Strasbourg, the Einhart estate is a ten-hectare family property whose vines are located on the hillsides that rise between the Alsace plain and the Vosges mountains. The soil is clay-limestone and rich in fossils (muschelkalk, i.e. shell limestone and oolitic limestone, and lettenkohle or dolomitic limestone). Since 1990, Nicolas Einhart has been at the helm, now assisted by his son Théo. True to his commitments to the TIFLO association, of which he is a co-founder, Nicolas devotes his winemaking to protecting the land and biodiversity, making wine without additives, refusing harmful phytosanitary products, and maintaining ecological refuge areas. His estate has been certified organic since 2011. Like Jean-Marc Dreyer, he is firmly focused on skin maceration and produces white maceration wines (orange wines) in addition to a Pinot Noir red. Entirely manual harvests, destemming of the grapes, light punching down, and delicate pressing are characteristic of the estate, as well as the separate vinification of each terroir, aging on lees, and the absence of filtration before bottling. The wines are made from pure grapes, lively, powerful, invigorating, and reflect the minerality of the beautiful terroirs of the Vosges foothills.

Saint Joseph Rouge 2019,

Domaine des Miquettes
With creativity and passion, Domaine des Miquettes combines the terroir and winemaking traditions of the Rhône with those of Georgia, whose viticulture is a model for Paul Estève and Chrystelle Vareille, the estate's founders. Located in Ardèche, south of the Saint-Joseph appellation, Paul learned his trade from René-Jean Dard and François Ribo, two leading figures in natural wine in the Rhône Valley. With Chrystelle, he began by taking over Paul's family farm with two acres of vines, then in 2004 the entire estate, which now covers 4.3 hectares. The white grape varieties are located around the house, while the red grape varieties are planted on steep slopes, between 300 and 450 meters above sea level. The plots rest on a granite base with light soils: black mica granite, schist, and gneiss. Everything is grown organically (Ecocert) using biodynamic practices. The vines are cared for and fortified with plant and clay decoctions. The soils are worked by horse or winch and pickaxe. No chemical inputs are added to the vineyard work. The harvest is entirely manual.
The great specificity of the Domaine des Miquettes remains the use of Georgian techniques, inspired by their passion for this Caucasian country, the cradle of wine, where eight-thousand-year-old winemaking techniques are still used. At the heart of this viticulture is the qvevri, the buried jar where all the winemaking takes place: fermentation with skin maceration and aging. They set out to discover this country and returned with the decision to age all their wines in buried jars. They have twenty-six, but distinguish between tinajas (Spanish jars) for fermentation-maceration and buried "amphorae" for aging. No sulfur is added. For both reds and whites, the terracotta erases astringency and transmutes it into a velvety texture, a supple and fruity substance.
This beautiful Syrah from old vines in AOP Saint-Joseph is aged in terracotta amphorae. Fresh, balanced, structured but showing a beautiful fusion of tannins and an opulent aromatic palette, this fruity and spicy Saint-Joseph is to be drunk now or kept for a few more years. A beautiful signature of the Saint-Joseph terroir.

Magnum ET Emilie Tom 2019 Red

Emilie Mutombo
Light as a feather, Émilie Mutombo's ET cuvée is a blend of the ancient Cartoixa Vermeil, Ull de Llebre, and Parellada grape varieties grown on clay-limestone plots. Part of the harvest is directly pressed, while the rest is macerated for two weeks in whole bunches. Aging in stainless steel vats lasts approximately six months. On the palate, an explosion of red fruits and plenty of freshness.
Natural wine with no added sulfites

Tomato liqueur 2021,

Distillerie Cazottes
This organic and natural tomato liqueur (Eurofeuille and Nature & Progrès labels), from the Gaillac terroir of the Laurent Cazottes distillery, truly deserves its plural name. Indeed, no fewer than 208 varieties of tomatoes are grown organically in the property's garden. All can be used in the recipe for this spirit, which has an alcohol content of 18%.

Production
To obtain this tomato liqueur, the organic tomatoes are picked every day at full maturity in the Gaillac garden. They are sorted, cut and macerated in the house organic wine brandy. Then, time does its work...

Tasting
Surprising with its saline, herbaceous and slightly sweet accents, this organic tomato liqueur from the Gaillac region is perfect as an aperitif, but its sweet and salty power makes it suitable for all dishes. It will go well with tapas of all kinds, cheeses, smoked fish and marinated preserves.

Learn more about the Cazottes distillery
Laurent Cazottes, winemaker, distiller and natural liqueur maker, is a revealer of quintessences. In Villeneuve-sur-Vère, near Gaillac (Tarn), he cultivates a veritable Eden of biodiversity. On limestone soil, he cares for fruit trees, vines, shrubs, and vegetable plants, which he transforms into wines, eaux-de-vie, and liqueurs.

Production secrets
First of all, the integrity of the fruit and the vine, cultivated in certified organic (Eurofeuille and Nature & Progrès labels) and biodynamically, then careful care given to their maceration at perfect maturity in the estate's organic eau-de-vie, and finally a precise and light dosage of sugar.

The Cazottes touch
"Liqueur does not mean sweet," Laurent likes to say. The particularity of Cazottes liqueurs and eaux-de-vie is their fidelity to the raw material: it is the whole fruit that we have in our mouths, with all its nuances and its deliciousness. They are low in alcohol and low in sugar: they are exceptional nectars.

Pastis du Zeppelin 44.8° - 70cl

Awen Nature Distillery

We first admire the magnificent label, and then we discover the bouquet. The nose of this certified organic pastis is fresh and aniseed, the palate is very fresh and delicately spiced. But pastis in Brittany? Of course. Besides, if you know how to make absinthe, you know how to make pastis, the latter being one of the spirits that replaced absinthe after it was banned in 1915. Pastis, since then, has become a product of Provence and especially Marseille, but nothing prevents the existence of a Breton pastis. This one gets its taste from a combination of thirteen distilled plants, always with a dominance of green anise and complex, spicy and herbaceous notes: fennel, star anise, angelica root, coriander, cinnamon, orange, iris, licorice, nutmeg, clove. The whole thing is very fresh, as befits a pastis. All that remains is to dilute it with fresh water.

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The Awen Nature distillery is a factory of magic potions: beverages with a strong Celtic content, organic liqueurs with a strong touch of poetry. This Breton distillery, located in Ille-et-Vilaine and run by Julien Fanny, initially devoted itself to absinthe, a liqueur that Julien helped to rehabilitate. It's not "the liqueur that makes you crazy," he says: "we were already crazy before." » He strives—successfully—to recreate the taste of yesteryear, that of absinthes that were once given to children on a sugar cube as a dewormer. “You need a touch of madness to be a distiller today,” says Julien. In addition to absinthe, Julien distills a wide range of spirits and liqueurs: gins, vodkas, botanical rums, Swedish elixir, concoctions inspired by role-playing games… All made from plants, respecting the environment, without preservatives or artificial flavors. An ode to plants that the korrigans must sip in secret, at night, on the moors.

Bon Papa Blanc 2021,

Domaine Bois Moisset


The color is light gold, slightly cloudy. Bon Pâpâ is a white wine that offers a decided but light minerality and a nose, initially a little closed, with fermented and milky accents with a slight smoky touch and a hint of fresh hay. On the palate, the wine is round, ample, and fresh with a juicy, fleshy texture. The texture is savory and fruity: warm apple, nectarine, tangy pear, and a herbaceous, invigorating finish, with a fine acidity and a noble bitterness (apricot kernel). The wine is characterized by a delicious freshness. Plenty of crunch and very pronounced fruit. Some notes of lemony citrus, grapefruit, and a beautiful coexistence of roundness (without sweetness) and acidity. Produced in the Vin de France category, Bon Pâpâ is one of the rare whites from the Bois-Moisset estate. Its composition: 10% Muscadelle, 45% Sauvignon and 45% len-de-l’el (far from the eye). The vines are not treated with any synthetic chemicals, and the amendments are composted manure from the estate’s small cattle farm. Weeding is done mechanically, and sometimes even manually. The grapes are pressed immediately after harvest and blended into fresh juice. Fermentation takes place at 19°C, before malolactic fermentation. The wine was bottled with a minimal sulfite content of 1g per 100 liters.

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The name Gaillac, the region where the Bois-Moisset estate is located, owned by Sylvie Ledran and Philippe Maffre, has been associated with wines since Antiquity; It is the oldest vineyard in France, with two thousand years of history and an impressive collection of ancient indigenous grape varieties. It is also a region of dazzling beauty, nicknamed "French Tuscany" because of its gentle hills planted with groves and its almost Florentine brightness. Many estates, along with that of Bois-Moisset, showcase this uniquely rich wine-growing heritage. Along with an estate planted with vines, it is an organic mixed farm that directly sells its production of lentils, sunflower oil, cereal flours and grape juice. A herd of old local breed cows also thrives there and guest rooms are available in the summer. It is in this small rural paradise that natural wines typical of their origin and their terroir are born, on fifteen hectares of boulbènes, gravelly and sandy-loam soils carried by the Tarn for thousands of years. The grape varieties are dominated by Syrah and Duras, but the ampelographic richness of the Gaillac region (braucol, prunelart, loin-de-l'œil, etc.) is also evident in the vintages of the Bois-Moisset estate, which consist particularly of red wines with a crisp fruitiness, concentrated but with smooth and delicate tannins.

Guignes et Guins Liqueur 2015, Laurent Cazottes

Cazottes Distillery A sensual and surprising liqueur made from guignes et guins, black cherries and wild cherries picked in the hedgerows of the Gaillac region. The production process—fourteen months of open-air maceration in a slightly sweetened eau-de-vie; filtering and distillation of the marc; reintroducing the marc into the liqueur—produces complex flavors, with notes of red rose and cedarwood. A dense and rich liqueur, fresh and fruity, wild and tannic, tangy and bitter. Alcohol content: 18%.

Magnum P'tit Poussot Blanc 2018,

Domaine de l'Octavin
Mineral and dry yet fruity, joyful and pleasant, this P'tit Poussot (En Poussot is the name of the plot) offers a nose of pear and opulent notes of apple, citrus, and pineapple on the palate, as well as plenty of freshness and acidity. Fresh and pleasant, perfect as an aperitif or with food. It is made from 100% Chardonnay, grown biodynamically on red marl soils and processed using direct pressing with vat fermentation. Bottled in September 2019, it is perfect for excellent charcuterie: even pata negra or Iberian chorizo. An excellent aperitif or table wine.

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“You don’t need anything,” says Alice Bouvot, winemaker at Domaine de l’Octavin, “just a grape that’s happy in its skin.” Everything is said in favor of natural wine; it’s a perfect description. Created in 2005, Domaine d’Alice is located in Arbois, in this wine-growing Jura region, often described as the most organic vineyard in France. The practice of making – among other things – oxidative wines is a good preparation for natural wine, this type of wine allowing no chemical additives and especially no sulfites. It’s a secret of this magnificent region. Originally spread over two hectares, the estate, managed entirely biodynamically (Demeter) since 2010, has expanded through the gradual acquisition of plots and now covers seven hectares.
An accomplished musician and passionate music lover, Alice intends to apply her musical sensitivity to the wines she makes. She draws a parallel between the technical perfection of conventional wines, which risks excluding feeling, while "a musician who does not know music theory and plays with his guts creates emotion." For her, living wine is like this: instinctive, improvised, emotional. Introduced to natural wine by Stéphane Planche, sommelier at chef Jean-Paul Jeunet in Arbois, she will faithfully follow this path. The sometimes whimsical titles of her vintages are inspired sometimes by musical art (Dorabella, Zerline), sometimes by the numerous plots of land that make up her vineyard (En Curon, Les Corvées, En Poussot, etc.), and do not disdain a pun from time to time. Likewise, the labels adorned with happy and salacious little gnomes are a signature of the estate. As for the grape varieties, they are the classics of the Jura - Poulsard, Trousseau, Pinot Noir for the reds, and Chardonnay, Savagnin for the whites. Alongside her Arbois wines, Alice has created a business of "on the vine" grapes (Ecocert certified) with her winegrower friends from the region. Natural, committed, joyful and highly drinkable, the wines of Alice Bouvot are all the more coveted as the vintages, produced in plot-by-plot mode, appear, disappear and reappear depending on the vintage and inspiration.

Magnum Pamina Blanc 2018

Domaine de l'Octavin
A wonderful freshness characterizes this Pamina, a lovely crisp and aromatic white, 100% Chardonnay, produced biodynamically from white and gray marl soils typical of the Arbois region. Well balanced between lightness and power, supported by superb acidity and enhanced by a yeasty and herbaceous touch, it will accompany grilled white meats or fish, or any savory dish containing puff or shortcrust pastry: vol-au-vent, quiches, croustades…

To find out more
“You don’t need anything,” says Alice Bouvot, winemaker at Domaine de l’Octavin, “just a grape that feels good in its skin.” Everything is said in favor of natural wine, it’s a perfect description. Created in 2005, Domaine d’Alice is located in Arbois, in this wine-growing Jura often described as the most organic vineyard in France. The habit of making – among other things – oxidative wines is a good preparation for natural wine, this type of wine does not allow any chemical additives and especially no sulfites. It’s a secret of this magnificent region. Originally spread over two hectares, the estate, managed entirely biodynamically (Demeter) since 2010, has expanded through the gradual acquisition of plots and now covers seven hectares.

An accomplished musician and passionate music lover, Alice intends to apply her musical sensitivity to the wines she makes. She draws a parallel between the technical perfection of conventional wines which risks excluding feeling, while "a musician who does not know music theory and plays with his guts creates emotion." For her, living wine is like this: instinctive, improvised, emotional. Introduced to natural wine by Stéphane Planche, sommelier at chef Jean-Paul Jeunet in Arbois, she will faithfully follow this path. The sometimes whimsical titles of her vintages are inspired sometimes by musical art (Dorabella, Zerline), sometimes by the numerous plots of land that make up her vineyard (En Curon, Les Corvées, En Poussot, etc.), and do not disdain a pun from time to time. Likewise, the labels adorned with happy and salacious little gnomes are a signature of the estate. As for the grape varieties, they are the classics of the Jura - Poulsard, Trousseau, Pinot Noir for the reds, and Chardonnay, Savagnin for the whites. Alongside her Arbois wines, Alice has created a business of "on the vine" grapes (Ecocert certified) with her winegrower friends from the region. Natural, committed, joyful and highly drinkable, the wines of Alice Bouvot are all the more coveted as the vintages, produced in plot-by-plot mode, appear, disappear and reappear depending on the vintage and inspiration.

Organic Pass’Ange Old Reserve Cognac, Alain Chadutaud

Alain Chadutaud
Aging for eighteen years in oak barrels has given this cognac a powerful yet delicate character, with powerful notes of cinnamon, hazelnut, rancio, and exotic wood. Round and delicate, it deserves to be enjoyed as a digestif.

Yuzu Liqueur Spirit 50cl

Lemon Story

At the heart of a family Mediterranean plantation, Lemon Story has been cultivating rare citrus fruits for over ten years with remarkable artisanal standards. This Yuzu Liqueur fully embodies this expertise, sublimating an exceptional fruit, still too little known, in an expression of great purity.

Made from yuzus freshly picked from the estate, this liqueur reveals all the richness of the fruit processed in its entirety. The pulp provides a vibrant zest, while the peels release their essential oils, offering depth and aromatic complexity. This meticulous work allows access to an aromatic palette rarely achieved, where intense citrus notes, delicate floral touches, and a slight noble bitterness mingle.

To the eye, the color seduces with its luminous hue, evoking the freshness of freshly opened fruit. The nose opens with an explosion of citrus, dominated by yuzu, between lime, mandarin, and zesty nuances. On the palate, the balance is remarkable. The texture is soft, almost silky, with no alcoholic sensation despite its 30 percent. Cane sugar, used with precision, supports the aromas without ever masking them, extending the tasting with a fresh and persistent finish.

Designed for pure tasting as well as for cocktail creation, it excels perfectly in a Lemon Story Fizz, where its vivacity brings a refreshing and immersive dimension.

The bottle, with its slender design inspired by citrus segments, extends the experience. Reusable as a carafe or vase, it embodies a sustainable and aesthetic vision, true to the spirit of the house.

Xarel Lo Domaine Blanc 2016

Clos Lentiscus
Festive, light, and crisp, this dry white wine made from pure Xarel Lo is, above all, a seducer. Aromatic and creamy with beautiful notes of white peach and tropical fruit accents, it has something to please every palate. The vines from which it comes grow on sandy-limestone soil. After the manual harvest, maceration is brief and pressing is very gentle to obtain the best from the grapes. Fermentation takes place in French oak barrels with indigenous yeasts. Aging takes place in the same containers for six months. Best served chilled.

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It is in Sitges, Catalonia, in the heart of the Garraf Natural Park, that Manel Avinyo and his brother Joan took over the family estate, renamed Clos Lentiscus by Manel. Even though Barcelona is only a half-hour drive away, the beauty of the landscape is striking and the immersion in nature is total: Mediterranean forests rub shoulders with Catalan scrubland (thyme, rosemary, rockrose, mastic tree which gave its name to the estate, etc.). The Penedès region also has a long winemaking history. Nestled in its gentle hills is Clos Lentiscus, in the Penedés appellation, on twenty hectares of sandy and clay-limestone soils facing due south at an altitude of 225 meters. According to historical documents, the family of Manel and Joan Avinyo has been established there since at least the 14th century. For a long time, the grapes were sold to local cooperatives, but as soon as the two brothers took over the estate, organic and biodynamic farming replaced conventional practices, the entire harvest goes into the house vintages, and organic and biodynamic practices have allowed this beautiful property to regain its former prestige: in the 19th century, its wines were sold in France and as far away as the Americas. Very quickly, Manel received a nickname: The Bubbleman, a tribute to his talent for vinifying cavas, these sparkling whites characteristic of the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, from indigenous varieties for which Catalonia holds the secret: sumoll, ull de llebre, xarel·lo, malvasia of Sitges, cartoixà vermell, cariñena (carignan), accompanied by tempranillo and muscat of Alexandria. The vines are old, some of them centuries old. No synthetic additives are used in the vineyard, and operations such as planting, pruning, de-budding, and harvesting are dictated by the lunar phases. Pollination is facilitated by the presence of beehives; sheep contribute to fertilization and control of the plant cover. Ringo, the white horse, takes care of working the soil.

Elegance, purity, and a crisp minerality due to limestone characterize the productions of Clos Lentiscus. The note of controlled oxidation, when it is felt, does not dominate the tasting, and the wines are never deviant. The cavas are known for being exuberant, but those of Clos Lentiscus never have more than two grams of residual sugar per liter. The estate also produces still wines, red, white, and rosé.

Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru les Folatières White 2020,

Fréderic Cossard

A fine example of Chardonnay at its zenith, this Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru is distinguished, complex, powerful, and precise. It comes from the Folatières plot, planted with very old vines. This age is felt in the depth and structure of the wine, and likewise, it benefits from superb aging qualities.

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Through his entirely natural work, Frédéric Cossard gives voice to the terroirs and Burgundy wines, undeformed by agricultural chemicals. Having observed, during his years of trading, the existence of harmful viticultural practices, the winemaker used this counter-example to practice unadulterated viticulture. Thus, he produces vintages of purity and elegance without artifice that are among the most sought-after in Burgundy. Frédéric worked as a wine broker for some time before creating the domaine de Chassorney with his partner Laure in 1996: initially a few ares of vines in Saint-Romain, Auxey-Duresses and Savigny-lès-Beaune, and currently ten hectares spread across the Nuits-Saint-Georges, Pommard, Volnay, Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Beaune and Bourgogne appellations. In 2006, he created his own wine trading house and buys organic grapes to vinify, according to his style and convictions, great vintages such as Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet, Pommard, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Chambolle-Musigny, Vosne-Romanée and several Beaujolais crus. The practice is not limited to Burgundy since vintages are made from grapes purchased in the Jura or Languedoc. At his place, the work of the soil and the vines is done as naturally as possible: regular ploughing by horse, no addition of chemical fertilizers or weedkillers. The vines are cared for according to the principles of biodynamics: homeopathic treatments based on essential oils, copper and sulfur in minimal doses. The harvest is entirely manual, carried out at full maturity, at the end of October. Red or white, classic Burgundies or more atypical or less "regional" bottles, Frédéric's vintages are rare and coveted wines, which sometimes require waiting.