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Welcome everyone to this month's new Palais Curieux!
For those who recently saw the film "La Révole Nature" screened at Méliès de Pau, you'll be able to discover the wines of Jean Maupertuis this month, one of the greatest pioneers of natural wines, having started 25 years ago in Auvergne, holed up in his village of Saint-Georges! Even if today the "natural wines" category is gaining more traction, it's not a trend for everyone, despite media coverage... it remains a tiny trickle compared to global production.
Starting our journey, still in Auvergne with another winemaker not far from Jean, we'll go to Laurent in Madargue (not Madrague - St Trop' and BB... let's not confuse them... nothing natural over there ;);); then due north/west to the hillsides of Ancenis at Frédéric's, newly established between Angers and Nantes on the right bank of the beautiful Loire; then Champagne to the east at Alexandre Chartogne in Merfy on the Saint Thierry massif and its sands expressing such delicacy... at the gates of Reims; then heading south to Pézenas (a beautiful sleepy town where Molière and Boby Lapointe left their mark..!) to the Prieuré Saint Jean de Bébian, undergoing a full renaissance in this magical place, and to conclude this journey, back home to Ayguetinte (what is it? what is it? tinted water... but maybe by wine...?):) the north of Gers in Ténarèze at Michel, the biodiversity boss.
Laurent Vigneron in Saint Bonnet near Riom was destined, with such a name, for the vines to accompany him! From fruit to bottle, like Obelix and his magic potion. Originally from Auvergne, he gained experience here working for other estates before spreading his own wings and setting up in 2019 with the firm intention of expressing true terroir wines. A wonderful discovery!
Another wonderful discovery, "Les Pierres Meslières" in St Géréon - in the Loire on the Atlantic side - a major Stone Age site with alignments of 48 menhirs, 4 of which are still standing amidst the vines! Here, Frédéric Monnier, a former engineer, settled on these incredible, vibrant hillsides... the vines probing, drawing from the schist, quartz, and quartzite, yielding wines with superlative minerality. A big wow.
In Champagne, Alexandre Chartogne doesn't just tend his vines with horses for show... or sheep in winter grazing between the rows! It's his way of preserving his working tool as naturally as possible by creating terroir wines from three elements that combine and reinforce each other - mineral/vegetal and animal. Let's listen to Alexandre's soft voice whisper to us: "To taste a wine is to immerse oneself remotely in the taste of a place." Let's add nothing more.
The Prieuré Saint Jean de Bébian on the hills near Pézenas isn't new, as its roots go back to 1152, to the time of the Cistercians! Then, in the 70s, a passionate gentleman, mad about wine, named Alain Roux, a great friend of the greatest winemakers like Gérard Chave in Hermitage, Jacques Reynaud in Châteauneuf (Rayas) and Lucie - Lucien Peyraud in Bandol (Tempier) settled here. He sought the best plant material from massal selection plants; he went to find the best Syrahs, then the Grenaches and Cinsaults, then the most beautiful Mourvèdre plants for his uncompromising project. After him, a long dormant period, nothing to say or rather everything to forget.... A great terroir must have a captain of the same caliber to seek the most beautiful expression; now it's done, the sleeping beauty has finally awakened with a top team. A new adventure is underway... to our greatest delight!
The best for last? Michel Maestrojuan - master chef or Don Juan of the vines of Domaine Entras who transformed the family estate into a haven of biodiversity; the hedges planted this year are a jumble of species to bring together insects and microorganisms, which themselves contribute to the health and protection of the vines. Michel is a constantly recharged battery, full of positive projects, he never stops taking us along in his dreams which he brings to fruition. The result: increasingly refined, livelier wines at truly gentle prices! Long live organic.
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