Producers Bisson, Jean-Paul Brun, and Quentin Bourse
First off is a sparkling we've been pouring for a minute, the Glera
from Bisson, one of our favorite producers in Northern Italy, in the
small region of Liguria, the small coastal region that borders France.
Pierluigi Lugano started his domaine in 1978, and has mostly focused
on nearly forgotten grapes, Bianchetta Genovese, Alberola, Bosca,
Ciliegiolo. His sparkling is made from Glera (hence the name) which is
the best grape for making Prosecco. Most prosecco these days is cheap,
industrial "plonk" (an industry term) made in low-lying, flat
vineyards that are optimized for overcropping, which tends to make
flatter, flabbier wines. In contrast Pierluigi's vineyards are old
vines on steep hills, harder to work but the fruit produced is
sharper, higher acid, and just all around more beautiful. Below are
two links, one about the domaine and a very technical document about
the wine itself, from the impprter Neal Rosenthal:
https://www.madrose.com/producers/italy/liguria/bisson/
https://www.madrose.com/bisson-glera-explained/
The second is another wine we've been pouring for a minute, the 'Rose
d'Folie' from winemaker Jean Paul Brun at Domaine Terre D'Oree, in
southern beaujolais. Terre D'Oree means "golden soil" a reference to
the unique golden hued limestone soil in the region, different from
the schist in the more well known northern vineyards. Because the
South was less known and had none of the famous single crus, it became
synonymous with cheap Beaujolais. Jean Paul Brun, however is an
exception, dedicated to making serious but light gamays, in the words
of Joe Dressner (rest in peace), his importer for years "Beaujolais as
it once was and as it should be."
His rose is the same way, good everyday rose, not pretentious but not
the cheap rose that washes over France every spring. His producer
profile is below:
https://louisdressner.com/articles/domaine-des-terres-dorées-profile
Next we'll do the first spanish wine I've talked about, the Sparkling
Vegas Altas from Juan Sojo & Ángel Luis González at Altos de
Montanchez in the Extremadura. The extremadura is a large, mostly
empty region between Portugal to the West and Mardid to the East,
famed more for their production of Jamon Iberico, aged hams made from
black footed pigs that eat only acorns than wine. Juan and Angel work
organically on a variety of grapes from the region, trying to make
more serious, thoughtful wine in this forgotten wine terroir. Their
sparkling rose is a co-ferment of two white grapes, Xarello (the main
grape in Cava from Catalonia), Macabeo, and Cabernet Sauvignon which
gives it the light blush color. It's made methode ancestrale, the
production method for pet-nat, which means that the wine is bottled
with a little sugar left in the bottle, which keeps refermenting as
the weather warms in the spring, giving it light bubbles, as opposed
to methode champenoise, in which dry white wine is bottled with sugar
and yeast that ferments. Producer profile from importer Selections de
la Vina is below:
https://www.selectionsdelavina.com/producers/altos-de-montanchez
The last is all the bottles from Sot de L'Ange we were lucky enough to
get. Quentin Bourse has been making wine in the relatively new
appellation of Azay le Rideau, in the Touraine region of the Loire
Valley. Quentin is a fast talking, hockey obsessed wine fanatic, both
in his vineyards, which are all biodynamic certified, and in the
cellar, where he believes every wine is unique and should be treated
differently. His main production are the main grapes of the region,
Gamay, Cot (what Malbec is known in the Loire), Grolleau, Cabernet
Franc, and Chenin Blanc, and a plot of old vine "Grolleau de Cinq
Mars" a rare variety of Grolleau grown in the region. The wines we got
this time around are the Malolactix, a blend of Pinot, Gamay, and Cab
Franc. It's a wine meant to be drunk fast and easy, hence why we serve
it chilled. The second is the OG Grolleau, which is serious old vine
Grolleau de Cinq Mars, aged four years before release, and the other
red is his Azaium (the ancient roman name for the town) 'Jardin a la
Boulaudière' a 100% Cot that is perhaps his most serious wine, meant
to be drunk slow and savored. The three Chenins are "Sec Symbole" (the
French are crazy for puns) his entry level white. Racy, sharp and easy
to drink. His Chenin (no pun) is old vine plots of both 18 and 19
fruit blended together. The third is the Azaium Blanc "La
Gougounierre", his top white that spends 4 years being aged before
release. This is serious thoughtful chenin, made with the same mindset
as the Jardin a la Boulaudière. These are some of the most exciting
wines from a young winemaker in France, and we're very proud to serve
them. Producer profile below:
https://www.selectionmassale.com/quentin-bourse.html