Last Chance

SM Sumoll Red 2019,

Partida Creus

This red Sumoll, a very old Catalan red grape variety long neglected, is a favorite of Partida Creus. A low-yielding wine, Sumoll thrives on poor soils, giving it great concentration, beautiful balance, juicy, dense and generous black fruit, notes of Mediterranean spices and plants, and finally an earthy, animal, and smoky character. The short maceration preserves freshness and acidity. It will be excellent with red meats, roasts, and duck, but the range of pairings is actually very wide.

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Partida Creus is an important estate, both from a winemaking and historical perspective—we're talking here about the history of the vine in Catalonia. Massimo Marchiori and Antonella Gerosa, originally from Piedmont—and even from the Langhe region, where wine is well-versed—first pursued careers as architects in Barcelona. But the wine bug tickled them, and they soon abandoned the big city and its sophistication for the vineyards of southern Catalonia, in Bonastre in Baix-Penedés. There they found a number of abandoned vineyards planted with a dizzying diversity of traditional Catalan grape varieties, which they passionately revived to save these varieties—and their wines—from oblivion. For them, it's not just a matter of saving their heritage, no: it's a matter of taste and nature. Of natural wines, which they will never stop making from now on on these sandy, poor, clay-limestone or clay-gravel soils, poor and poorly irrigated, where the vines suffer to produce their best juice. Massimo and Antonella practice organic, biodynamic, entirely manual and natural viticulture in order to give new life to these wines. Vinyater, sumoll, garrut, monastrell, ull de perdiu, ull de llebre, sumoll, queixal de llop, cariñena, trepat, ceciat parent, maccabeu, parellada, pansé, vinel.lo, bobal, cartoixà vermell or xarel.lo: it is a true conservatory of the native Catalan grape varieties that Partida Creus cares for. There is also Moscatel, Grenache, Merlot and Cabernet (among others). Few wineries can boast of growing so many different grape varieties. The wines reflect this diversity, with winemakers striving to best convey the signature of the soil and the grape variety: single varietals are common among them, alongside very rich blends, all in the styles dear to Catalonia: still wine, "ancestral" sparkling wine, and even vermouth. The bottles themselves are works of art: bare glass, simply marked with two large stenciled initials that indicate the cuvée. The wines, fresh, vibrant, lush but always straightforward and impeccably juicy and fruity, breathe life. The arrival of a Partida Creus at the table always elicits cries of satisfaction.

The Hacquet Sisters and Wine — A Natural Epic

By Hélène Merceron, 2017. 179 pages. Photographs by Jean-Yves Bardin.

This finely crafted story tells the story of the Hacquet sisters, Anne and Françoise, two pioneers of natural wine who were influential in viticulture on the banks of the Loire and elsewhere. These phenomena, as the author describes them, arrived at a very young age in Beaulieu-sur-Layon in 1935. For fifty years, they assisted their brother Joseph in defending natural viticulture without additives and without compromise, which was far from common at the time. The book is constructed as a mosaic portrait of the two sisters based on interviews conducted by Jean-Yves Bardin, who filmed and recorded them in 2013—when they were eighty-five and eighty-seven years old—and then in 2016. The author met the two sisters through Sébastien Dervieux, alias Babass, and his partner Agnès, to whom this book also pays tribute. A collection of anecdotes, a moving biography, an emotional work that is a great read. Structured in three parts and forty chapters, the book is accompanied by a photo notebook and a chronology.

Super B Rouge 2020,

Patrick Bouju
Its aromas of red berries and hazelnut bring a sensation of freshness to the palate and make it a very pleasant thirst-quenching wine. Super B is a beautiful blend of Beaujolais Gamays and Brouilly Gamays grown on granite and bluestone soils. Aging is done partly in vats, the rest in barrels. This wine can age for seven years.

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Near Billom, the Limagne clermontoise rises eastward to form a hilly area with a mild climate, dominated by volcanic hills. This is the Auvergne Tuscany, so named because of its resemblance to the Italian province. This land of mixed subsistence farming was once covered in vines and was the preferred domain of Gamay d'Auvergne, a robust ancient strain, the origin of dense, deep, and fruity wines. This is where Patrick Bouju cultivates and vinifies, on these high-quality volcanic soils and mainly on old vines. The soils vary between basalt, limestone, clay-limestone, and pozzolan. Patrick collects and cares for the best terroirs of Puy-de-Dôme, often abandoned, and gives them new life. He also preserves the indigenous grape varieties, of which he cultivates a good fifty, and simultaneously works as a wine merchant using purchased organic grapes. The current renaissance of the Auvergne vineyard (which was once the third largest in France) owes much to Patrick. The fact that he enjoys lending a helping hand to his winegrowing friends from France and elsewhere only confirms his image as a model, a leader. His partnerships are famous: with Action Bronson for the series A la Natural, with Jason Ligas in Greece for Sous le Végétal… Patrick practices long macerations, and the wines rest for up to six months after bottling. Very sensitive to sulfites in wines, Patrick has found that his own do very well without them. He has also found that if the grapes are healthy and concentrated, the balance is achieved by itself, whatever the successive phases a vintage goes through. His noble, chiseled, distinguished, never bland wines are immediately recognizable in the glass. They are straight, clean, precise, often marked by floral notes and a spicy minerality. They also constitute a formidable anthology of the terroirs and ancient vines of Basse-Auvergne and its volcanic soils.

Festejar Rosé Pétillant 2018, Domaine La Boheme
"To celebrate" is the meaning of festejar in Occitan: a clear indication of the use of this wine. This semi-dry natural sparkling wine is available in rosé and white. The rosé version (dark rosé, almost a red) is based on Beaujolais Gamay. Its scope is dizzying, because this thirst-quenching wine is also a complex vintage, superimposing very fine bubbles, delicious freshness, a slight sweetness, a measured acidity and a structuring bitterness. Perfect for an aperitif with friends, perfect for the table, perfect for thirst: an all-terrain vehicle for the greatest joy of all.
Natural wine with no added sulfites

Magnum A La Natural Rouge 2017,

Culinaries' exclusive cuvée
This is a blend: 80% Beaujolais Gamay, 20% Chardonnay. The Gamay grapes come from Patrick Bouju's vineyards in southern Beaujolais near Bully, on granite and bluestone soil. Vinification is carried out using whole grapes for 7 days, while the whites macerate, also using whole grapes, for 6 days.

BB Bobal Red 2020

Partida Creus

With BB Bobal, Partida Creus delivers a vibrant and unique interpretation of this little-known Spanish grape variety. This natural red, from old vines cultivated in Catalonia, seduces with its vibrant freshness, intense fruit, and wild finesse.

A natural wine at heart

Massimo Marchiori and Antonella Gerosa, founders of Partida Creus, are artisans of natural wine. Based in Bonastre, in the Baix Penedès, they are revitalizing ancient vineyards using a completely biodynamic, manual approach, and without oenological inputs. Here, the Bobal expresses all the typical characteristics of Catalan soils, thanks to a respectful vinification process that magnifies its original character.

An aromatic explosion and beautiful tension on the palate

To the eye, BB Bobal 2020 reveals a dark cherry red color with deep highlights. On the nose, it charms with its captivating floral bouquet, evoking English candy, violet and thyme, on a background of fresh red fruits. On the palate, the attack is juicy and dynamic. We find morello cherry and ripe plum, enhanced by a fine touch of black pepper and a saline finish that brings freshness and length. The balance between intense fruitiness, straightforward acidity, and elegant tannic structure makes this a wine as distinguished as it is accessible.

Food and wine pairings and tasting moments

Served well chilled, between 14 and 16°C, BB Bobal is perfect with Iberian tapas and delicatessen meats or a mature cheese. Its silky structure and aromatic brightness also make it an ideal companion to a lamb grill, a mildly spiced tagine, or roast poultry. A vibrant and festive wine, to drink now or let evolve for a few years.

VY Vinyater Vlanc 2017, Partida Creus
Made from old vines (sixty years old) of the Catalan vinyater grape variety on clay-limestone soil, aged in 50-liter demijohns, this is a fresh and seductive white wine that excels with seafood, grilled white meats and sweetbreads, but it can also seduce without any accompaniment or pretext. Rounded, buttery, expressive and mineral. The nose is all white fruits and white flowers. Lemon zest, a little beeswax. On the palate, volume, body, a very long finish.
Natural wine without added sulfites.

AA Anonimo Ancestral Rosé Sparkling 2017

Partida Creus
Anonimo Ancestral is a natural sparkling wine obtained by the method of refermentation in the bottle with aging for twelve months on fine lees. No filtration, no added sulphite. It results from a blend of several traditional Catalan grape varieties which differ depending on the color: for example xarel lo, macabeu, parellada, moscatel and ull de llebre. It pairs well with Mediterranean dishes, particularly those containing garlic, raw or cooked, such as snails Burgundy, romesco sauce, cod aioli, etc. It is a friend of all grilled dishes, including fish. This creamy and mineral wine with a superb texture and wonderful freshness should be drunk very cold (8-10°C) in a tulip or Bordeaux glass.
Natural wine with no added sulfites

Brutal is Dead, Long Live Brutal! Red 2019,

La Sorga
Antony Tortul loves old vineyards: he devotes his life to finding and vinifying them. Just as there are landless shepherds, he can be defined as a landless winemaker, in other words, a wine merchant whose scope extends throughout Languedoc and, eastward, as far as Châteauneuf-du-Pape, in search of the best terroirs. Born in Foix, with six years of experience as a viticultural technician and oenologist in various vineyards in the south of France, he founded La Sorga in 2008. His enthusiasm leads him on a path filled with love at first sight, and each of these loves is a vineyard. The result is a stunning mosaic of natural, lively and spirited wines, which reinvents itself each year with around thirty cuvées per vintage. Few winemakers can include such a variety of grape varieties on their menu: the whole of southern France is there with muscats, grenaches, picpoul, mauzac, carignan, cinsault, marsanne, alicante, braucol, duras, viognier, len-de-l’el, and tutti quanti.
This wine is a blend of three Languedoc terroirs: Vieussan and Cabrerolles in Hérault, both with schist soils, and Lagrasse, clay-limestone, in Aude. The grape varieties are 60% Cinsault (65-year-old vines), 35% Grenache (45-year-old vines), and 5% Muscat of Alexandria (40-year-old vines). Vinification is carried out using separate grape varieties: 60 days in whole bunches and in near-infusion for the Cinsaults, a 53-day soak (in direct-press must) for the Grenaches, and a maceration for the Muscats with manual destemming. The blend is made before winter for aging for nine months in vats. The nose is superb, floral, strawberry, and cherry... and the palate is a delight, drinkability is at its peak. Fine and easy-drinking but never overly simplistic. Beautiful balance.
Natural wine with no added sulfites.

Kuku Yodel Blanc 2019

La Sorga
Antony Tortul loves old vineyards: he devotes his life to finding and vinifying them. Just as there are landless shepherds, he can be defined as a landless winegrower, in other words, a wine merchant whose area of ​​activity extends throughout Languedoc and, eastward, as far as Châteauneuf-du-Pape, in search of the best terroirs. Born in Foix, with six years of experience as a wine technician and oenologist in various vineyards in the south of France, he created La Sorga in 2008. His enthusiasm leads him on a path filled with favorites, and each of these favorites is a vineyard. The result is a dizzying mosaic of natural, lively, and spirited wines, which reinvents itself each year with around thirty cuvées per vintage. Few winemakers can list such a variety of grape varieties on their list: the whole of southern France is there with muscats, grenaches, picpoul, mauzac, carignan, cinsault, marsanne, alicante, braucol, duras, viognier, len-de-l’el, and all the rest.
Natural wine with no added sulfites.
This dry white wine comes from Marseillan (Hérault), a wine-growing commune on the Languedoc coast made famous by Noilly-Prat and the picpoul grape variety. Here, it is a question of other varieties, growing on clay-limestone soil: eighty percent terret bourret (eight-year-old vines), fifteen percent muscat d’Alexandrie (forty-year-old vines) and five percent grenache gris (twenty-year-old vines). The Terret Bourret is directly pressed, the Muscat is manually destemmed and then macerated in vats for thirty days, and the Grenache macerates for fifteen days in the Terret Bourret must. The blend of the three grape varieties is followed by an eight-month aging in vats on lees. The nose evokes white peach, citron, and sweet spices. The palate, full of freshness, reveals itself to be extremely mineral, strongly marked by the Terret Bourret (a sand wine grape variety) with an electric finish. An original and seductive wine that will lend itself to all your desires. It will keep for around ten years.

Skin Contact Zizifredo Blanc 2020,

Frédéric Cossard
Rare, appetizing, and sophisticated, this blend of Grenache Blanc and Muscat d'Alexandrie macerates on the skins before being placed in barrels. It expresses notes of tropical fruits (pineapple) and various citrus fruits: mandarin, grapefruit, orange.



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Through his entirely natural work, Frédéric Cossard gives voice to the terroirs and Burgundy wines, undistorted by agricultural chemicals. Having observed, during his years of trading, the existence of harmful wine-growing practices, the winemaker used this counter-example to practice unadulterated viticulture. Thus, he produces vintages of purity and elegance without artifice which are among the most sought-after in Burgundy. Frédéric worked for a time as a wine broker before creating the Chassorney estate 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 merchant company and purchased 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 vintages. The practice is not limited to Burgundy, as vintages are made from grapes purchased in the Jura, Languedoc and elsewhere. At his place, the work of the soil and the vines is done as naturally as possible: regular plowing 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 sought-after wines, which sometimes require waiting.

L’Intrépide blanc 2020

Domaine Einhart
A Pinot Gris maceration wine exists, and it can reach incredible heights when vinified with care. The twenty-five-year-old vines are harvested by hand; the grapes are destemmed. Maceration, using indigenous yeasts, takes between four and eight days. Aging in foudres on fine lees precedes bottling without filtration. From the vineyard to the cellar, this wine was made without any additives. Decanting is recommended so that it can spread its wings and express its powerful and complex notes.

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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 harvesting, destemming of the bunches, 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.

Mus'cat Blanc 2019, Domaine de l'Octavin
Made from muscats from the Pyrénées-Orientales (50% Muscat à petits grains, 50% Muscat d'Alexandrie) grown biodynamically on clay-limestone soils, this wine is full of fruit and freshness. The grapes macerate for two weeks in whole bunches to promote the extraction of their lovely aromas. It will lend itself to all pairings, including desserts (not too sweet, please).
Natural wine with no added sulfites.

Super B Rouge 2019,

Patrick Bouju
B is for Beaujolais, super as in super-good. A delicious red wine from Patrick Bouju, who for the occasion is moving away from the Auvergne Gamay to Gamays planted further east. Super B is indeed a very fine blend of Beaujolais Gamays and Brouilly Gamays (lieu-dit Pisse-Vieille) grown on granite and bluestone soils. Its aromas of red berries and hazelnut bring a sensation of freshness to the palate and make it a very pleasant thirst-quenching wine. Super B has a certain ability to go down at full speed; it's a beautiful gurgling wine. Aging is done partly in vats, the rest in barrels. Maceration for fifteen days and fermentation with indigenous yeasts. No clarification, no filtration, no added sulfites. This wine can age for seven years.

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Near Billom, the Limagne clermontoise rises towards the east to form a hilly area with a mild climate, dominated by volcanic hills. This is the Auvergne Tuscany, so named because of its resemblance to the Italian province. This land of mixed subsistence farming was once covered with vines and was the preferred domain of Gamay d'Auvergne, a robust ancient strain, the origin of dense, deep and fruity wines. This is where Patrick Bouju cultivates and vinifies, on these high-quality volcanic soils and mainly on old vines. The soils vary between basalt, limestone, clay-limestone and pozzolan. Patrick collects and cares for the best terroirs of Puy-de-Dôme, often abandoned, and gives them new life. He also preserves native grape varieties, of which he cultivates a good fifty, and simultaneously works as a wine merchant using purchased organic grapes. The current renaissance of the Auvergne vineyard (which was once the third largest in France) owes much to Patrick. The fact that he enjoys lending a helping hand to his winegrower friends in France and elsewhere only confirms his image as a role model, a leader. His partnerships are famous: with Action Bronson for the series A la Natural, with Jason Ligas in Greece for Sous le Végétal… Patrick practices long macerations, and the wines rest for up to six months after bottling. Very sensitive to sulfites in wines, Patrick has noticed that his wines do very well without them. He also found that if the grapes are healthy and concentrated, balance occurs naturally, regardless of the successive phases a vintage goes through. His noble, chiseled, distinguished, never bland wines are immediately recognizable in the glass. They are straight, clean, precise, often marked by floral notes and a spicy minerality. They also constitute a formidable anthology of the terroirs and ancient vines of Lower Auvergne and its volcanic soils.

GT Garrut Rouge 2017, Partida Creus
A Catalan cousin of Mourvèdre, the Garrut grape variety forms the basis of this wine with its intensely purplish color, a journey to the depths of black fruits, notably blackberry or bramble: intense, brilliant, earthy, completely atypical. It evokes the family vine, artisanal and free wine, the garrigue and fig leaf. Will accompany bellota ham, the best cured meats and terrines, spicy dishes, Chinese cuisine. Should be served fairly chilled (15 °C).
Natural wine with no added sulfites.