UFOs & Curiosities 🌌

Hüpnos White 2018

Sous le Végétal

Hüpnos ("sleep" in Greek) owes its name to the slopes of the dormant volcano on which its vineyard terraces are located, harvested at night. This dry white wine is produced from two remarkably austere vineyards. A macerated wine, it offers great mineral freshness and rich fruit, extended by notes of candied fruit.

Where?
On the slopes of an extinct volcano, in the Agii Sarandides area, and on Mount Karvounis. Basalt and limestone soils.

The vines
Muscat à petit grain from Samos, grown organically in conversion to permaculture. The vines are pruned in goblet form. Manual harvesting at night, in order to preserve the freshness of the polyphenols and ensure perfect maceration.

Vinification
Free-run juice obtained by maceration in stainless steel vats by diffusion for forty days, whole bunches. Vinification without aeration or stabilization, only settling, pumping over and topping up are carried out. Vinification in 500-liter Stockinger barrels. Wine without additives, unfiltered, bottled by gravity and transferred by peristaltic pump into black bottles ensuring aging. Aged in bottles with organic cork without paraffin, sealed with a mixture of paraffin and black beeswax.

Hüpnos White 2019

Sous le Végétal

Hüpnos ("sleep" in Greek) owes its name to the slopes of the dormant volcano on which its vineyard terraces are located, harvested at night. This dry white wine is produced from two remarkably austere vineyards. A macerated wine, it offers great mineral freshness and rich fruit, prolonged by notes of candied fruit.

Where?
On the slopes of an extinct volcano, in the Agii Sarandides area, and on Mount Karvounis. Basalt and limestone soils.

The vines
Muscat à petit grain from Samos, grown organically in conversion to permaculture. The vines are pruned in goblet form. Manual harvesting at night, in order to preserve the freshness of the polyphenols and ensure perfect maceration.

Vinification
Free-run juice obtained by maceration in stainless steel vats by diffusion for forty days, whole bunches. Vinification without aeration or stabilization, only settling, pumping over and topping up are carried out. Vinification in 500-liter Stockinger barrels. Wine without additives, unfiltered, bottled by gravity and transferred by peristaltic pump into black bottles ensuring aging. Aged in bottles with organic cork without paraffin, sealed with a mixture of paraffin and black beeswax.

Bianco Blanc 2012, Le Coste
This simple Italian white is made from a blend of Procanico and Malvasia grown on the volcanic soils of Lazio, on the borders of Tuscany and Umbria. The grapes are lightly crushed and then immediately pressed. The first must settles for a few days before being transferred to the bottom of the cellar, in a natural cave, where it ferments slowly in French oak barrels for about a year. A delicate amber color, for a wine with an elegant and lively nose that lingers on the palate with notes of yellow fruits, enhanced in the magnum format.
Natural wine with no added sulfites.

Xarel lo Macabeu White 2019

Cyclic Beer Farm

Xarel lo-Macabeu is, as its name suggests, a blend of equal parts Catalan Xarel lo and Macabeu grape varieties grown in Pla de Penedès (Alto Penedés) on clay-limestone soils at an altitude of between 200 and 230 meters. The vines are between 35 and 45 years old. The grapes are sorted, crushed, and macerated with the stems and skins, two days for the Xarel lo and one day for the Macabeu. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks and the two grape varieties are blended after alcoholic fermentation. The wine is fragrant, dry, aromatic, mineral, with balanced acidity and a touch of controlled oxidation.

Learn more

Cyclic Beer Farm is a duo of Barcelona friends, Alberto and Joshua. Based in the Catalan capital, they have two sides to their business: beer (Cyclic Beer) and wine (Cyclic Wine). The beers, inspired by the Belgian model, come in surprising and colorful ranges where expertly measured yeast cocktails and house brews combine with varied macerations of fruits, vegetables, herbs and grape marc from traditional Catalan varieties, the latter taken after the fermentation of their wines - because the second side is the wine, made exclusively from native Catalan grape varieties. As merchant winemakers, Alberto and Joshua personally harvest by hand from organic wineries throughout Catalonia and bring the harvest back to their brewery-cum-winery workshop in La Sagrera (Barcelona). There, they sort the grapes, tread them by foot, and ferment the must using exclusively indigenous yeasts. Depending on the type of wine, skin maceration takes place on the skins and stems for between one and three days for whites and between six and fifteen days for reds. The free-run juice is then transferred without pressing into stainless steel tanks where fermentation continues before bottling. The skins and stems, and sometimes part of the juice, are then used for the maceration of saison beers: an interesting synergy between beer and wine. No sulfites are added during vinification; nothing is added to or removed from the wine, which is never filtered. The harvest and other viticultural operations are decided according to the lunar calendar.

Beaune Les Chardonnereux Qvevris Red 2020,

Frédéric Cossard

This is a magnificent red wine from Beaune with dark harmonies: blueberry, black fruits, black cherry, alongside aromas of red rose petals and fresh violets. It is a calm and elegant wine, endowed with elegant richness and admirable fruit concentration, in which the slight astringency of well-evolved tannins blends gracefully. It comes from a plot of land that has been cultivated organically for three years and faces south. This Chardonnereux plot is known for ensuring early ripening of the grapes. To highlight the minerality of this red Beaune, Frédéric Cossard decided to ferment and age it in qvevri, a Georgian-style buried jar. Aging in qvevri lasts twelve months, after a month and a half of fermentation with indigenous yeasts. The passage in qvevri is preceded by a three-month passage in stainless steel vats.

To find out more
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 for some time as a wine broker 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, as vintages are made from grapes purchased in the Jura, Languedoc, and elsewhere. At his farm, the soil and vines are worked as naturally as possible: regular horse-drawn ploughing, no addition of chemical fertilizers or weedkillers. The vines are tended according to biodynamic principles: 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.

Magnum L'As des Années Folles White 2015

Les Vignes de l'Ange Vin

Natural wine with no added sulfites.

Saint Romain Combe Bazin Qvevris Blanc 2020,

Domaine de Chassorney

An exceptional Chardonnay, aged in Georgian jars

The Saint-Romain Combe Bazin Qvevris Blanc 2020 from Domaine de Chassorney is an exceptional cuvée that combines Burgundian elegance with the ancestral Georgian tradition of ageing in qvevris. This pure Chardonnay, from a steep, east-facing plot, draws its minerality and complexity from a soil composed of marl, clay, and limestone. At an altitude varying between 280 and 400 meters, this terroir gives the grapes vibrant tension and superb freshness.

Upon opening, the luminous golden color announces a wine of character. The nose reveals a beautiful aromatic palette, combining candied citrus, juicy pear, fresh almond and notes of flint, typical of great white Burgundy. The skin maceration, followed by ageing in qvevris, brings additional depth, enriching the texture with honeyed, spicy and slightly tannic nuances. On the palate, the balance is masterful: a beautiful mineral tension supports a full-bodied and structured wine, whose saline and persistent finish leaves an unforgettable impression.

A natural and unfiltered wine, this unique cuvée deserves to be decanted to reveal its full complexity. Served between 10 and 12°C, it pairs magnificently with pan-fried scallops, roasted lobster, truffle risotto, or creamed poultry. A rare, deep, and vibrant wine that will evolve gracefully over 5 to 10 years.

Les Marlines Special White Cuvée 2018

Jean Yves Peron

Les Marlines is an organic and natural dry white wine from Jean-Yves Péron. This exceptional cuvée, classified as a Vin de France, is produced in Savoie in the Chignin-Bergeron region (without the appellation). It is a 100% Roussanne de Savoie merchant cuvée made from grapes grown biodynamically in Chignin by Gilles Berlioz.

Vinification

Roussannes are produced from young vines (three years old) and older vines growing on poor, shallow limestone subsoil. The plot is south-facing on a predominantly west-facing slope. This is the first harvest from these young vines, and it is producing splendid results. The grapes spend three weeks in carbonic maceration with a week of punching down, then the wine is aged under veil for four years in 225-liter barrels.

Tasting

The oxidative note is unmistakable in this Les Marlines cuvée; it is accompanied by great aromatic richness and real freshness. This complete and adaptable wine offers delicious notes of hay, dried herbs, and apricot, which is the hallmark of Roussanne. As a good sailing wine, this wine will go with everything. We recommend it with very old hard cheeses: or with exceptional charcuterie, such as galabart black pudding, Bigorre black ham or Béarnaise andouille, all three to be found in the selection of the Collectif Padouen. Or a simmered Gascon poultry (we strongly recommend using this wine for the sauce: you will therefore need more than one bottle).

Learn more about Jean-Yves Péron

Jean-Yves Péron is a talented embodiment of the organic, biodynamic and natural renaissance of the Savoyard vineyard, which is based on varied soils and numerous indigenous grape varieties (Jacquère, Altesse, Mondeuse, etc.). At his Chevaline winery in the Bauges region, he vinifies grapes from his plots in Conflans, near Albertville, and Fréterive, in the Isère valley.

High-altitude biodynamics

Jean-Yves Péron's work follows the principles of minimal intervention. On narrow, steep slopes, his hand-worked mountain vines in micro-plots receive no synthetic products, Jean-Yves preferring horsetail and nettle manure. The grapes are vatted in whole bunches and undergo semi-carbonic maceration. Shortly before pressing, they are foot-trodden in the vat, then transferred to two- or three-wine barrels for twelve months of aging on lees, before blending and resting in the vat. No sulfites are added, or as little as possible, and the wines are not fined or filtered.

Italian-Savoyard trade

Since 2011, a trading activity has allowed Jean-Yves Péron to buy the harvest from neighboring organic winegrowers and to collaborate with winegrowers from Northern Italy: this is the I Vicini series, which allows him to diversify the terroirs and deepen his experiences in winemaking and aging.

Saint-Joseph 2 years old Red Amphore 2016,

Domaine des Miquettes

This beautiful Syrah in AOP Saint-Joseph is aged for two years in terracotta amphorae. Fresh, balanced, and structured, yet displaying a beautiful fusion of tannins, it can be drunk now or kept for another ten years.

Je t'ai dans la peau White 2017,

Nicolas Chemarin

Nicolas Chemarin, nicknamed P’tit Grobis as a resident of Marchampt (Beaujolais), is the fourth generation of winegrowers on his family estate in the Beaujolais-Villages appellation, on stony land where he crafts wines of surprising depth and sincerity. He took over two hectares of his father's vines in 2005 and produced his first vintages in 2006. In 2008, he acquired other vineyards and decided to devote himself solely to his estate, whose very steep terroir consists of poor, rocky soils on gray granite rock. The vines rest on the bedrock through very thin soil, and their roots plunge deep into the rock. Depending on the configuration of the soil, the vines are pruned in goblet form or raised on stakes. Their average age is eighty years. The grape varieties, Gamay and Chardonnay, are classically Beaujolais. Nicolas also cultivates two other terroirs in the Régnié appellation: Les Bullats, with light, filtering sandy soils, and La Haute Ronze, very close to Morgon, whose deeper, clayey soils produce full-bodied wines. The wines undergo long macerations (from 18 to 30 days) with punching down and temperature control (Nicolas works cold, around 20 °C). The aging is partially done in thermoregulated concrete vats for a third, the remaining two thirds being spent in barrels of four to ten wines to provide oxygenation but little or no woody sensation. Nicolas Chemarin is already well known in the natural world for his sweet and fruity vintages, wines for pleasure, and for wines from difficult and magnificent terroirs, endowed with admirable and complex mineral, aromatic and spicy notes. As its name suggests, Je t’ai dans la peau is a matter of epidermis. Grape skin, of course, since it is a maceration white, an experiment carried out by Nicolas with various nuances since 2009 to obtain wines with a strong personality. The goal isn't to produce exuberant orange wines like those from Italy or the South, but rather controlled macerations with fruit and depth. The harvest comes from the same plot as P'tit Grobis Blanc: all Chardonnay, of course, on stony granite soils. The 2017 vintage is produced using pure maceration. This maceration is short: five to seven days. Aging is three years in barrels. This orange offers a beautiful old-gold color and delicately oxidative notes of walnut and hazelnut, leading to an exotic fruity palette. A superb balance to savor.

Madloba White 2016

Domaine des Miquettes

Madloba Blanc ("thank you" in Georgian, referring to the birthplace of the vine and its terracotta aging) is a blend of 50% Marsanne and 50% Viognier. The vines are planted at an altitude of 350 meters, on a hillside plot with granite and black mica soils. The wine is aged for one year in qvevri, amphorae buried in the cellar in the Georgian style.
Natural wine with no added sulfites.

Du Bout des Lèvres White 2009

Jérome Lambert

A pure, sweet Chenin Blanc that respects itself, Du bout des lèvres comes from schist soil where fifty-year-old vines grow, harvested at different stages of maturity. It is here that botrytis, or noble rot, is responsible for achieving this aromatic power on both the nose and the palate. It will be wonderful as an aperitif, accompanied by some salted butter biscuits.
A natural wine with no added sulfites.

Skin Contact Zizifredo White 2022

Frédéric Cossard

Skin Contact Zizifredo is an organic and natural wine, a blend of southern grape varieties: Grenache Gris, Bourboulenc, and Muscat d'Alexandrie, grown on clay-limestone soils and macerated for a long time on the skins. Beyond the pun included in the name, it also alludes to Zibibbo, the Sicilian name for Muscat d'Alexandrie. To discover other maceration wines made from southern grape varieties, also check out Jean-Louis Pinto or the La Sorga estate.

Vinification

The organic grapes, harvested by hand in the south of France, are vinified in Burgundy by Frédéric Cossard. The grapes macerate for nine months in whole bunches before being slowly pressed. The wine is aged in concrete eggs. Skin Contact Zizifrédo is bottled without the addition of sulfites, fining, or filtration.

Tasting

Rare and sophisticated with plenty of presence and character, Skin Contact Zizifrédo expresses notes of tropical fruits (pineapple) and various citrus fruits: mandarin, grapefruit, orange, in addition to iodine notes. On the palate, it is fresh and appetizing, with very fine tannins and plenty of fruit alongside the tension of a long-macerated wine. This wine is made for all pairings.

Learn more about Frédéric Cossard and the domaine de Chassorney

Frédéric Cossard and the domaine de Chassorney give the floor in organic and natural mode to the wines of Burgundy (and elsewhere), undistorted by agricultural chemicals, according to the style and convictions of this winemaker and merchant. Wherever the grapes come from, its wines bear the Cossard brand, both classic and creative.

Between viticulture and trade

Frédéric Cossard created the domaine de Chassorney 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 trading house and buys organic grapes from the greatest climates of Burgundy, but also from Jura, Languedoc and elsewhere.

A solid commitment to nature

At Frédéric Cossard, the work of the soil and the vines is done naturally: plowing by horse, biodynamics, no chemical fertilizers or weedkillers. The harvest, by hand, is carried out at full maturity. Frédéric Cossard's vintages are rare and sought-after, wines that are always highly anticipated but which sometimes require waiting.

Coyade White 2015

Domaine Vinci

A voluptuous southern white wine born from a blend of Macabeu, Grenache Blanc, and Carignan Blanc planted in the Agly Valley, in the heart of Roussillon, Coyade comes from vines grown on a predominantly clay-limestone terroir. Malolactic fermentation took place in stainless steel vats, and the three grape varieties were vinified separately before being blended. The color is intense and golden, with notes of straw and honey on the nose, and a slight oxidation on the palate that pairs perfectly with hard cheeses.

Natural wine with no added sulfites.

Magnum Les années folles Sparkling White 2010

Jean-Pierre Robinot

Natural wine with no added sulfites.

Saint-Romain Sous Roche Qvevris Red 2018

Frederic Cossard

This Pinot Noir from the Qvevris series (aged in Georgian-style terracotta jars) comes from a plot whose sloping terroir, facing south-southeast, is located between 280 and 400 meters above sea level in the Saint-Romain appellation. The soils are mainly marl, limestone and clay. The grapes macerate in whole bunches. Plenty of fruit and roundness supported by a sumptuous minerality. The Pinot Noir benefits greatly from the velvety texture brought by aging in qvevri.
Natural wine with no added sulfites.

Skin Contact Combe Bazin White 2016

Domaine de Chassorney

This Chardonnay comes from a steep, east-facing plot between 280 and 400 meters above sea level. The soils are mainly marl, limestone, and clay. After skin maceration, the wine is aged for about a year in barrels. This climate is known for producing mineral, lively, sapid, and persistent wines, with the added bonus of Burgundian smoothness.
Natural wine with no added sulfites.

Bianco White 2012

Le Coste

A delicate amber color for a wine with an elegant and lively nose that lingers on the palate with notes of yellow fruits, enhanced here in the magnum format. This pleasant Italian macerated white, simply called "white" (bianco), is made from a blend of Procanico and Malvasia grapes grown on the volcanic soils of Lazio, on the borders of Tuscany and Umbria. After a late harvest, entirely by hand, the grapes are lightly crushed by foot and then macerated for two weeks in truncated French oak barrels. After pressing, the must is decanted for a few days before slowly completing its fermentation in tuns for about a year. The wine is then aged for seven months in barrels at the bottom of the cellar, in a natural cave, before being bottled. “This wine may not change the course of winemaking history,” writes one Italian commentator, “but it managed to give me a very good time, and that’s what matters. Believe me: we desperately need wines like this… In the glass, a beautiful yellow tending towards amber, opaque and rich. On the nose, a crackle of yellow fruits and volcanic sparks, and a beautiful acidity. After a few minutes, Bianco becomes sensorially capricious on the palate, like a chameleon, its beautiful acidity supporting the structure and highlighting its complexity. Almond, peach, hazelnut, yellow flowers, Annurca apple… Every moment in the glass reveals something new. »

Find out more
The Le Coste azienda is located in Italy, in Gradoli, in the province of Viterbo, in the northeast of Lazio. The estate was created in 2004 by Clémentine Bouveron and Gian Marco Antonuzzi. Clémentine is an oenologist and has already worked at Domaine Hauvette and Trévallon, in the Alpilles, as well as in Sauternes, at Château de Rayne-Vigneau. When Clémentine and Gian Marco took over the estate, it covered three hectares at an altitude of 450 meters and appeared as an abandoned garden of vines and olive trees. They recreated it in a traditional polycultural way with agroforestry, livestock farming, and viticulture to produce wines without additives and without deviation. The surface area has since grown to approximately fourteen hectares. The terroir overlooks Lake Bolsena. Its volcanic nature explains the lightness of its recently formed soils: lapilli tuffs, volcanic ash in varied layers, rich in minerals. This soil, very poor in organic matter, must be amended, and natural caves enlarged by older generations serve as cellars. Shared between vines, olive trees, elms, century-old oaks and wild chestnut trees, the site is a marvel of plant diversity. The biodynamic methods used at the estate include manure compost, horn silica and herbal teas that strengthen the defenses of the vines, which are trained in the traditional way, in low goblet training with a stake. The grape varieties are numerous, indigenous and ancient, reproduced by mass selection in the old vines still present on the estate. The wines express the local terroir and a strong Italian identity, with very varied profiles.

Skin Contact Sous Roche Red 2016

Domaine de Chassorney

This Pinot Noir comes from a plot with a steep, south-southeast facing terroir located between 280 and 400 meters above sea level in the Saint-Romain appellation. The soils are mainly marl, limestone and clay. The grapes, from fifty-year-old vines, macerate in whole bunches. Aging takes place for about a year in barrels. Beautiful structure, well-rounded tannins, and lovely notes of black fruits.
Natural wine with no added sulfites.

Saint-Romain Sous Roche Qvevris Rouge 2018

Frederic Cossard

This Pinot Noir from the Qvevris series (aged in Georgian-style terracotta jars) comes from a plot whose sloping terroir, facing south-southeast, is located between 280 and 400 meters above sea level in the Saint-Romain appellation. The soils are mainly marl, limestone and clay. The grapes macerate in whole bunches. Lots of fruit and roundness supported by a sumptuous minerality. The Pinot Noir benefits greatly from the velvety texture brought by aging in qvevri.
Natural wine with no added sulfites.