New Arrivals: Natural Wines from La Graine Sauvage/Peira Levada & Coteaux Grésivaudan from Thomas Finot!
4/23/24 -
Today’s email features superb natural wines, with zero additives, from La Graine Sauvage and Peira Levada in Faugeres as well as the unique wines of Thomas Finot, both from the Coteaux du Grésivaudan in the Chartreuse mountains and from Crozes-Hermitage in the Northern Rhone. And please join us at 79 Chambers Street to meet and taste with Reol Beaufort of Champagne Andre Beaufort this Friday 4/26 from 5 -7pm!
La Graine Sauvage & Peira Levada
We're proud to reintroduce these outstanding natural wines, originating from high altitude vineyards on soils of shist in Faugères, and produced with zero added sulfur. Sybil Baldassarre is a young Italian oenologist who worked with Anna Schneider at the University of Turin in a project of "study, recovery and the safeguard of Vitis genetic resourses'" and then worked at the important organic estate Chateau Tours des Gendres in Bergerac. Thanks to retailer Ludovic Aventin and to crowdfunding by his society "Terra Hominis," Sybil was able to obtain 2.5 hectares of old vines - all white varieties - for her dream project in Faugères. Here she is joined by her partner Alexandre Durand, from Bergerac, whose project is Pèira Levada, producing red wines from Cinsault, Grenache, Carignan and Mourvedre as well as ancient grapes such as Oeillades and Aramon.
We met Sybil and Alex in Caussiniojouls, and tried to follow their Jeep up to the vineyards in the hamlet of Cabrerolles, bathed in luminous winter light, at 1300ft in altitude. It's a unique and beautiful spot, cool enough to retain acidity in the white wines, even in the Languedoc, on a great terroir of shist, with old vines primarily of Grenache Blanc, Vermentino, Roussanne and Marsanne. Her farming is organic, of course, with minimal treatments for mildew and a great diversity of flora and fauna in and around the vines. She is planting Terret, Clairette, Maccabeo and other old varieties and hopes to develop a conservatory to preserve the ancient vines that are adapted to the region.
Sybil is passionate, energetic and obviously a highly skilled and knowledgeable winemaker as was shown during our subsequent tasting in her cellar/garage. The wines are fantastically complex and ripe, but balanced by firm acidity, and while they possess the ''sauvage" character of natural wines, they remain "clean," saline and very long in the finish. They will be superb accompaniments to creative vegetarian cooking, fish or chicken in sauce and full flavored cheeses. We are thrilled to offer these unique wines and we congratulate Ms. Baldassarre on her work and her commitment to the region and it's old varieties.
Alexandre Durand's parcels for Pèira Levada are nearby at a slightly lower altitude on terroirs of shist and marble. Alexandre is making wines without added SO2, with a two month maceration, with no pigeage or remontage, just an infusion of fruit. Featured today are "Velvet Underschiste" on, you guessed it, schist soils, and “Pachorra,” all Grenache with a short maceration giving a bright and vibrant wine with exuberant fruit! While they are obviously full-flavored wines of the south, they retain cool acidity and are balanced and pretty - perfect for grilled foods this summer, served a bit cool.
Thomas Finot, Coteaux du Grésivaudan and Crozes-Hermitage
We're very pleased to once again offer the wines of Thomas Finot, a young winemaker who, after experience in different regions of France, discovered abandoned vineyards in the Coteaux du Grésivaudan (Isère) northeast of Grenoble, and is working to restore the vineyards and the region's potential. With great passion, he is reviving local varieties such as the white Verdesse and the reds Persan and Étraire de la Dhuy as well as working with the appellation's permitted grapes including Jacquère, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Thomas is committed to organic and biodynamic farming to best express the regions quality – all of the Coteaux du Grésivaudan wines are certified organic and Biodynamic (Demeter). The terroir is an ancient valley in the Chartreuse mountains with soils of glacial stones, clay and sands with limestone scree, where the daytime temperatures are among the highest in France, but with very cool nights.
Thomas is also producing a small quantity of superb Crozes-Hermitage from his grandfather's 1.8 hectare of vines on great sites in Larnage on both limestone and granite with white clay (kaolin) soils.
The estate also makes delicious everyday wines from varieties found in the Isère region: Tracteur Rouge from Persan, Gamay and Pinot Noir; Tracteur Rosè from Gamay with a local field blend, and Tracteur Blanc, mostly from Jacquère, Verdesse and Chardonnay. The "Tractor" wines are deliciously different and refreshing and will accompany just about anything!
Instrumental to the creation of Domaine Finot was the work of a vigneron named Daniel Zegna, who has been cultivating the traditional varieties of the Coteaux du Grésivaudan and has passed on some of his knowledge and some of his vines to Thomas. Étraire de la Dhuy (l'Adui) is a red grape, possible an offspring of Persan, discovered in the early 18th century, with only a few hectares remaining in 2008 (Wine Grapes) The 2021 Finot Persan is from massale selection plantings by Daniel Zegna in Bernin and Saint Ismier. Persan is a "Rare but high-quality Savoie variety" according to Wine Grapes, which appears in Piemonte as Bécuet where it is a blending grape. Again according to Wine Grapes, (thank you Jancis, Julia and José) Verdesse originated in the Vallée du Grésivaudan, but production was down to 2 hectares in 2008.
The estate’s tiny production of Crozes-Hermitage on the unique white clay soils in Larnage are consistently outstanding – special mention goes the the 2021 Crozes-Hermitage Blanc “Anais” from a small parcel of the oldest vines, which beautifully expresses the unique terroir.
-David Lillie
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