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Burgundy
>>DOMAINE LOUIS CLAUDE DESVIGNES MORGON AOC
NEW
We first heard about Loius Claude Desvignes from our good friend German Blanco of Quinta Milu and with a recommendation like this, it did not take us long to embark on the trip to Beaujolais. The Desvignes family are 8th generation vignerons, farming 13 hectares of vineyards, located in the Montagne de Py – at the very heart of the appellation Morgon – arguably the most dynamic & quality driven of all Beaujolais Crus. The soils here are very distinctive – a mix of clay, sand and decomposed blue schist (so called “rotten rock”).
Back in the 60’s Louis Claude Desvignes was one of the first vignerons in Morgon to recognise the potential of the vineyards of Côte du Py. He strongly believed in the ageing potential of Gamay grown there and began bottling of a single vineyard wine from the 3 hectares in the region of Javèrnieres.
In early 2000’s he passed the running of the estate to his daughter Claude Emmanuelle and son Louis Benoit, who eventually took full charge of the vineyards and the winemaking. From the start Louis Benoit was determined to establish his own connection with the land he farms. He adopted organic approach, opting for regular ploughing of the soil and minimal intervention in the winemaking process. He likes to pick the grapes at optimal ripeness with manual selection in the vineyards and vinifies his Morgon in traditional Cru Beaujolais way – slow and cool fermentation in unlined cement vats, with gentle extraction (minimal racking) – in order to capture primary aromas and freshness of the fruit. Continuing in his father’sfootsteps, Louis Benoit makes elegant, terroir driven wines that age gracefully – “a Gamay tokeep”. However, he also believes that: “great wine is the one you can drink at any stage (…) because it will always reveal something new (…)”.
Variety
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2017 Morgon La Voute St Vincent, GV: Gamay, Climat: Douby over pink granite, 5hectares
2017 Morgon Corcellete, GV: Gamay
2017 Morgon Côte du Py, GV: Gamay
2017 Morgon Côte du Py Javèrnieres, GV: Gamay, Climat: Javèrnieres (lower part)
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>>DOMAINE LONGERE, BEAUJOLAIS VILLAGES AOP, organic
NEW
In September 2018 we visited several estates in the northern part of Beaujolais where most of the superior terroirs and all the Beaujolais Cru villages are located. One of the estates that was of most interest was the little know estate owned and run by Jean-Luc Longere, Domaine Longere outside the villages of Vaux-en-Beaujolais.
Jean-Luc is the 6th generation in his family to have worked the vineyards in Beaujolais. He learned everything from his father and started winemaking at the age of 16. He and his wife Regine work as a team and all the remaining employees are seasonal workers. 20% of the estate is dedicated to Chardonnay production and the remaining 80% is Gamay. The estate is very small, a mere 5h/a producing between only 25,000 and 30,000 bottles per annum.
Jean-Luc has not distributed his wines in France through retail outlets as the very limited production was only enough to supply his private clients and his existing restaurant customers. In the past few years, wine buying in France with his private customers has altered allowing for a small surplus.
Jean-Luc’s philosophy is one of constant change and evolution. While he practices organic principles, he is not certified and is not tempted into ‘natural’ wine making. In the past few years, after constant reassessment Jean-Luc has decided to move away from aging his reds in wood, preferring neutral vats. In addition, he has begun experimenting with amphora making one cuvee (600 litre only), Jarre, for the past 2 years.
We tasted through his 2016 and 2017 wines and immediately decided to begin a partnership
Variety
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2016 Domaine Longere Blanc “En Vercheres”, GV: Chardonnay
2016 Domaine Longere Rouges “Les Vin des Roches”, GV: Gamay
2016 Domaine Longere Rouge “Jarre”, GV: Gamay, A: in clay amphorae
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>>DOMAINE PATTES LOUP (THOMAS PICO), AOC CHABLIS, organic
>>DOMAINE PATTES LOUP, AOC CHABLIS, PETIT CHABLIS, BOURGOGNE
NEW
We visited Thomas on a very cold morning in January (-12!) and we managed to get an allocation from the 2015 vintage! Thomas is a third generation wine grower in Chablis. The winery is based in Courgis where, apart from Pico’s family, the only other grower to bottle their wine themselves are Pico’s mentors, Alice and Olive de Moor.
Thomas is one of the few producers in Chablis to farm his vineyards organically and harvest by hand. Organic certification (a real challenge in Chablis!) was completed in 2009.
Pico’s wines are unfiltered and vinified, without any added acid or yeast. He lets them ferment naturally, and uses just a little Sulphur for stabilization.
Variety
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Very limited.
2016 Chablis, GV: Chardonnay.
2015 Chablis Premier Cru, GV: Chardonnay.
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Variety
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2015 Bourgogne Blanc, GV: Aligote
2015 Bourgogne Charmes Aux Petres, GV: Aligote
2015 Bourgogne Blanc Mechelots, GV: Chardonnay
2015 Marsannay Blanc, GV: Chardonnay
2015 Bourgogne Rouge, GV: Pinot Noir
2015 Marsannay Rouge, GV: Pinot Noir
2015 Marsannay Clemengeots, GV: Pinot Noir
2015 Marsannay Clos du Roy, GV: Pinot Noir
2015 Marsannay Les Grasses Tetes, GV: Pinot Noir
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>>SYLVAIN PATAILLE, CÔTE DE NUITS, AOC MARSANNAY AOC, BOURGOGNE
NEW
After a life around the family vines in Marsannay and his formation as an oenologist in Beaune, Sylvaine Pataille started his own project in 1999, working initially with only one hectare of vines, 2001 being his first vintage. Ever since then, he has established long term relationships with the local growers and now farms 15 hectares of vines, mainly within AOC Marsannay and some AOC Bourgogne near Chenove.
Having so much knowledge, experience and undisputable reputation as an oenologist under his belt, Sylvain could easily make wines in one of the more prominent Burgundian appelations. Instead, he proudly says: “Marsannay is enough for me (...) I know a lot about Gevrey-Chambertin, but this is my village”.
Located just south of Dijon, AOC Marsannay was once described as the Northern Gate to the Golden Slope. Despite having no 1er Crus awarded within a AOC system, it was always an integral part of Cote de Nuits. The appellation produces wine of all the three colours, yet it is extremely rare to find outstanding white wines in the part of Cote D’Or where Pinot Noir reigns (S. Pataille’s whites being one of the few noble exceptions). It is possible that in the coming years, several lieu-dits with unique features, may get elevated to 1er Cru level. However, as usual in Burgundy, changes of that magnitude may take decades.
In the meantime, Sylvain Pataille makes his wine with passion and determination, exploring this fascinating and often underestimated terroir. He seems to have a special connection with the land he knows so much about and is well able to transmit in his wines all the subtle differences of climate, soil, aspect and grape variety. To achieve this, he vinifies and bottles various lieu-dits of Marsannay separately.
Apart from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, Sylvain’s great passion remains Aligote. His largest vineyard (3 hectares of Bourgogne Blanc) is planted with it and the wines display quality rarely obtained from this variety.
His vineyards are healthy and full of life, thanks to the organic and biodynamic principles applied for over a decade and minimalistic approach to farming. The wines have strong identity and remain true to their origins.
GRAPE VARIETIES: Pinot Noir, Pinot Beurrot, Chardonnay, Aligote Dore Viticulture: organic (Ecocert since 2008), biodynamic principles Soil: varied; mostly limestone, clay and granite.
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VINIFICATION:
• grapes partially whole cluster fermented in stainless steel and fiberglass tanks; • use of indigenous yeast;
• elevage in French oak, between 15%-30% of new barrels for 12-18 months;
• low doses of Sulphur used, only at the bottling stage
• whites only undergo light fining, reds are neither fined nor filtered.