#September2023
Hello Curious, Playful, Amateurs and Fine Gourmets!
Like many of you, we are already, like all of you I imagine... heading back to school... To support you on this chaotic path, we have several lovely new arrivals to keep the spirit of summer, escape, and well-deserved relaxation alive a little longer...!
Claire & Florent Béjon in the Loire, Château Messey in Macon and Chandon de Briailles in Savigny les Beaune for beautiful Burgundy, Vaccelli in Corsica near Ajaccio, Les Frères Mignon in Cramant on the Côte des Blancs in Champagne, Clos des Jarres in Minervois at the foot of the Montagne Noire and of course worthy representatives of the Southwest with Domaine Bertrand Henry from Comminges and Domaine Jean Daugé by Sébastien Fezas in Gers...
We know there will be happy people! La Franche Lippée 2022 from Sébastien Fezas, Domaine Jean Daugé is back.... Its 100% Syrah, so fresh and delicate!! And its white Partie Fine 2021, so unique yet winning all the votes. Sébastien worked under the light but swirling wings of our "Domino" Andiran from Montréal, showing him all the natural possibilities of this terroir.
Claire and Florent Béjon, natural winemakers from Chinonais, created their domain in 2010 with a tiny plot of 20 ares. It was just to test, to see what it would produce... as amateurs... but it was too good, so they bought an additional plot every year! It wasn't until 2015 that Claire started working full-time in the vineyards, and in 2021, Florent, her partner, joined her on the 5 hectares! But they haven't stopped surprising us; they are planning new plantings! The cuvées are pure juice and single-varietal/single-terroir. Cabernet Franc for the reds and the rare Chenin for the white.
Bertrand HENRY in Comminges near Toulouse cultivates the last vines of the area! The domain features Syrah, Merlot, Mauzac, Chenin, Cabernet Sauvignon, Marselan, Abouriou, Alicante, Gamay Teinturier, Cabernet Franc, Artaban, and Floréal .... Bertrand works everything biodynamically, accompanied by Flirt, his Percheron mare.
We shouldn't shout it from the rooftops too much, but the wines from Domaine Vaccelli from the Island of Beauty have arrived, but in such confidential quantities! Gérard Courrèges, above Ajaccio, works in the Burgundian style to showcase his quartz or granite plots. Wines with a lot of character, finesse, and balance. You will find his rosé 2021, pure Sciaccarellu, so atypical yet authentic in our "Palais Curieux."
Here are the wines for Burgundy lovers! François de Nicolay (natural wine merchant) starts from the obvious observation (but not for everyone ;)) that good wines can only be made with good grapes; a merchant without inputs, without sulfites, organic, very artisanal, and preserving the fine origin of each cru, and his wines from Domaine Chandon de Briailles,https://cavedupalais.shop/collections/chandon-de-briailles a family domain since 1834 across 13.7 hectares, which adopted organic farming and animal traction in 2000! The wines are thus magnified by their textures, elegance, and aromatic charm. As well as the wines from Château Messey in the Mâconnais, a splendid property without ostentation in its 16th-century form, abandoned after 1958 but taken over in 1989 with its 10-hectare vineyard certified organic since 2021. The result is superb; the wines are expressive, well-ripe but with a beautiful minerality providing all the necessary balance. A domain to discover!!
Vivien Hemelsdael from Clos des Jarres, located between Minervois and Corbières, also vinifies pure juice wines. "Insouciance," aptly named, in red, a rosé tasting of fresh pomegranate, "Utopy" in white, or his "Tralari" cubi of Grenache, Syrah, and Carignan are all fruit bombs! Vivien works with minimal intervention and observes the lunar calendar in Biodynamics.
The long-awaited Champagnes from Florent and Julien Mignon have arrived, hooray!! Fine, fine, fine bubbles with depth - from earth to sky - in the communes of Cuis, Cramant, and the marvelous Avize. The two brothers took over their father's vines in 2015 and are completely passionate about their terroir! 8.5 hectares of vines (thanks to Dad for all that...) from beautiful genetic heritage (massal, i.e., non-clonal… each individual being from the same family but different!). What's more, and it's not a bad thing... quite the opposite, they are super nice, don't have big heads, and are fans of comics... "by a thousand millions of thunderbolts"!!
Palais Curieux September 2023
Another Palais Curieux that allows you to discover wines from all horizons. A direct flight to Corsica, the Loire, Minervois and back to the Southwest! 1 rosé, 2 dry whites, 3 reds.
