Magnum Zerlina Red 2018

Zerlina Rouge 2018,

Domaine de l’Octavin

This Arbois wine showcases the full range of red fruits from Pinot Noir combined with the spicy and undergrowth notes from Trousseau. The palate is straightforward, balanced, and structured. Zerlina, whose name evokes Mozart's operas—a recurring theme for music lover Alice Bouvot—is composed of one-third Pinot Noir and two-thirds Trousseau from the En Curon plot, with gray marl and limestone soil. The harvest is hand-picked, destemmed, and partially pressed before fermentation with indigenous yeasts and aging for ten months on fine lees in oak barrels. Press juice and free-run juice are then mixed to create a clever blend. This wine is made entirely without chemical additives.

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"You don't need anything," says Alice Bouvot, winemaker at Domaine de l'Octavin, "just grapes that are happy in their own 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 the 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, as 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.