This month, we're embarking on a multi-stage journey to share one of the most enriching aspects of being a wine merchant: winery visits. Reconnecting with the terroirs, meeting the men and women who produce the bottles we love to share with you. It's a journey that allows us to return full of stories, with our minds full of images, and to convey the essence of this product, a true societal and historical link, too often denigrated by a hygienist view that categorizes it as a mere alcoholic beverage. When you see the hard work, the resilience in the face of various climatic, political, and economic challenges, as well as the passion these winemakers dedicate to their environment with the sole desire to convey its most accurate and emotional expression possible, you can only be admiring and proud to be a link between them and you. From Auvergne to Champagne, via the Jura and Savoy, join us on a journey to meet these apostles of good and wholesome drinking!
Day 1: In Auvergne, volcanoes and wines go hand in hand
- The first chapter of our journey takes us to a region that is increasingly recognized by wine aficionados: Auvergne. Surrounded by the chain of 'puys,' these ancient and venerable volcanoes, long extinct, shape the landscape, overlooked by fortified villages perched on small promontories, making one want to grow a mustache, wear a helmet, and relive a famous victorious battle of our Gallic ancestors... (check your history books!). But, preferring to clink glasses rather than cross swords, we head to the village of Montpeyroux, to meet Yvan Bernard and his Domaine de l'Arkose, and also to Martres-de-Veyre to visit Mikael Hyvert. These human-sized estates, with elegant winemaking and diverse terroirs ranging from basalt to granite with some more calcareous plots, produced wines that genuinely delighted us. Available this summer!
- Next, we head to Chalus, where we had an appointment with Claire and Edoardo from Les Terres Bariolées. After experiences particularly in Burgundy, the couple settled in the beautiful eagle's nest of Chalus and cultivate 7 hectares radiating around the village. Gamay, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Chardonnay Musqué, which we visited in a perfectly old-school American jeep, accompanied by another wine advocate, Sophie, who offers an uninhibited show about natural wines and tasting. The wines reveal delicate and deep bouquets, with slender and fine palates that left us speechless (watch out for the new vintage of Chirouzes in Pinot Noir... a great thrill of elegance). Les Bariolés, the négociant range, extends the contentment and curiosity, as each cuvée is blended with a significant proportion of Chardonnay Musqué. Balance and pleasure are guaranteed. The day ends at the Clos de Chozieux, in the Forez forests, with honest and concentrated wines of undeniable quality-price ratio.
Domaine Henriot, Champion de Champlitte
Here is another estate we visited later during our stay, but we were so eager to introduce it to you that we're bending the narrative chronology ;). Northeast of Dijon, in Haute-SaĂ´ne, the Champlitte hillsides are little known but truly worth a detour. On these coral clay-limestone soils (from corals... a long time ago...), Pascal Henriot, and now with his daughter Orane, have been making organic wines since 1985. The estate stands out with an amusing mix of Burgundian grape varieties (Pinot Noir, Gamay, Chardonnay) and more original Alsatian ones (Muscat, Gewurztraminer, Auxerrois, Pinot Gris), a result of Pascal's love for this region with many consonants. We truly fell in love with the wines and also with Orane's welcome, an admirable hostess who conveyed her love for this little off-the-beaten-path corner.
Domaine Pellé, cozy Menetou Salon
Straight from Centre Val de Loire, the Domaine Pellé is a new arrival at Cave du Palais. As a standard-bearer for the Menetou Salon appellation, which is less exposed than its neighbors Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé, Domaine Pellé captivated us with its approach to representing its terroir. Parcel-by-parcel expressions, respect for the vintage, the Pinot Noirs are elegant, deep, and complex, while the Sauvignons express, without embellishment, all the mineral purity of these Kimmeridgian marls, which contribute to the beauty of the region's emotional wines. Hurry, there aren't many to go around!
A great gift for Father's Day!
We thought we had seen it all for wine accessories! But here it is, the gift that will amaze every wine lover, brought to you by GĂ©oBio Agri Concept! It's a clay platter on which you place a wine glass, bottle, or decanter for a certain period (20 minutes for the glass, 1 hour for the bottle...). Keep some wine that hasn't rested on the platter, and after the allotted time, conduct a comparative tasting: the same wine, two distinct tastings. A wine with high acidity will gain roundness, an overly tannic wine will soften... truly amazing! Our test was conclusive...
Â
Â
