Bernard Vallette ‘Esprit de Jarre’ Blanc 2019

Location: France, Beaujolais

Winemaker: Bernard Vallette

Grapes: Pinot Gris

Soil: clay, limestone

Winemaking: Grapes were harvested manually, pressed horizontally, and fermented in stainless steel with only indigenous yeast. No temperature control, no fining, no filtration. 6 months of maturation, half in clay vessels, half in stainless steel, no added sulphites.

From the Importer MFW: From the deep south of Beaujolais in the village of Lachassagne, where the soils are clay and limestone as opposed to granite, Bernard Vallette is biodynamically farming 6.5ha of land passed down through his family from his grandparents. The grapes are all hand harvested and fermented with native yeasts using carbonic maceration and a comparatively lengthy aging in stainless steel. The resulting wines are charming and immensely drinkable in their youth, but also develop nicely with a few years of age. No additions in the cellar (including sugar) and just a touch of SO2 at bottling.