New wine! Cyril & Elliot ‘Blouge’ VdF 2024
As Guilhaume says, “The idea is simple. Provide a delicious wine inexpensively, and of course, naturally made.” So it is with this collaboration of Cyril Cuche and his nephew Elliot. Of the new wine, “I discovered Blouge not that long ago really, through some cuvées from Matassa I drank at Cave Septime...this whole blending process was quite fascinating to me. Cyril and I discussed the project pretty early on, we first got to work on a rosé base, out of my favorite grape there, Cinsault. And once that was done, we wanted more depth—a little more color, something more Tavel like, more vinous. We started incorporating another component, still Cinsault, but made it carbonic, the way he makes his 2 liter bottling. We threw that in one of his gorgeous circular Italian cement tanks outside the winery. A few month later, this crazy mix of freshness and seriousness was popping out of the glass. I always wondered how Emanuel Reynaud made his wines, and I swear with that glass in my hand, at that particular time, I convinced myself they were made that way. 🙂
We decided to add a little bit of white for acid and minerality, and a little Grenache that was slightly reductive to keep the wine fresh through bottling. The result is drinking like Poulsard in texture; it’s not even 12% alcohol, but it’s certainly ripe and southern in many ways. I’ve never been more excited to drink buckets of one of our collaborative bottlings than this latest one, I must admit.”- Guilhaume Gerard
Our latest newsletter is live on the website! Featuring our visit to the salons de la Loire as well as the newly arrived wines of Marie Thibault, Frantz Saumon, and Martin Texier, we talk everything from horse plowing to politics. It was a true joy to reconnect with our community in France and we hope you’ll check it out (link in bio).
Checking on the 25's @haarmeyerwinecellars with the one and only Craig Haarmeyer, talks about PH, ripeness, field blends of obscure German grapes and his dislike of Zin
We sat down with Giorgia Quintarelli and Simone Gradizzi of Cantina La Bacheta @cantinalabacheta , a new producer we are very excited to be working with. La Bacheta is in Custoza, Verona, and is so called for a family nickname. Baccho was Giorgia’s great grandfather’s nickname. They don’t know if it’s because he drank a lot of wine like Bacchus or because he had silkworms, the name for which in the local dialect sounds like Baccho. Regardless, the wines capture a delicious bacchanalian spirit and are made with acute observation, skill, and passion. Watch the full interview on our website / link in bio to learn more about this great project from two very talented young winemakers.
Maison Blanche @maisonblanchebio has landed! Listening to Nicolas Despagnes talk about wine, as we had the pleasure of doing at Madavin a couple weeks ago, can run the gamut from tales of jazz concerts played for the vines to accounts of real-time adjustments made to cépages harvest to harvest. The estate is historic (see the photo of ‘43 bottles) and so are the wines. It’s a joy to have them back. Here are some notes on what’s in from Jonathan @yallterity :
2023 Maison Blanche Cease & Desist VdF
The clairet formerly know as Old Clairet, Eleanor, etc whose current name harkens back to the many threatening letters we received from a certain film mogul family makes its welcome return. Cabernet Franc direct press and Merlot red aged together in used barrels creates the perfect, old-school Clairet to lend a little hope for warmer weather while still feeling red enough to suit Winter. This year feels a bit less touched by the barrel with nice, cleansing acidity.
2022 Maison Blanche Colombier de la Metairie Montagne-St-Emilion
Nicolas is slowly replacing all the Merlot with Cabernet Franc across his vineyard, but in 2022, the Merlot was so good that he included higher percentages than usual across the board. Colombier de la Metairie is a selection of the fresher, more primary side of Maison Blanche without sacrificing the core terroir imprint of the domaine (warming, energetic red fruits entangled with a classic, Cabernet Franc forward right bank structure), and is a steal for the price.
2022 Maison Blanche ‘Maison Blanche’ Montagne-St-Emilion
The best barrels that are not intended for parcellaire or varietal wines go here. Rather than some deviation in taste or style, I think the increased Merlot in 2022 better preserved the Maison Blanche-ness of the wines in an otherwise dry and solar vintage. Instead of bruisers - elegance!
It’s been a long time since we were in France as a team for the Salons de la Loire, so it felt really good to be back. We kicked things off properly with a visit to Frantz Saumon and Marie Thibault in Azay-le-Rideau. This was incredible because we got to see Marie’s vines and hear a bit more about how she became a winemaker. Then tasting in the caves (literally two caves in the back of their house) with Frantz and Marie, which was excellent not only because the wines were unilaterally delicious, but also because they’ll be arriving in the US in early March. After Azay, we had a wonderful day with Jeremy and Jean Quastana in Cheverny, tasting Jean’s wines first in the older cellar attached to their family’s home and then Jeremy’s in his newer cave. We also got to do a vertical of L’Insurgé which…wow. After our estate visits it was off to the fairs. Some of the highlights from our producers we tasted with: Marie Thibault and Frantz Saumon, Pierre Borel, Ariane Lesné, Chateau Falfas, Maison Blanche (eta today!), Clos Marfisi, Marie-Charlotte Pinelli, Loirette, Martin Texier, Champagne Bourgeois-Diaz, Jeremy Quastana, Jean-Christophe Jezequel, Domaine Tripoz, Clos du Jaugueyron and Les Serrals.
And a Happy New Year to all of you, friends, employees, costumers, purveyors, retailers, restaurateurs and sommeliers, winemakers, amateurs and professionals, part time drinkers and long time afficionados, thank you, and all the best for you all in 2026!
