Julien Altaber Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2021

Winemaker: Julien Altaber and Carole Schwab

Grapes: Pinot Noir (Négoce fruit)

Soil: 30 year old hillside vines on Clay and Limestone

Winemaking: Hand picked, late harvest. The fermentation starts quickly with the help of white wine. The vatting is very short (4-5 days) and the fermentation ends in barrel.

From the Importer Steven Graf Wine: Julien Altaber was born a farmer. He grew up in Auvergne and spent all his free time around cows and tractors. When he was 16 participated in his first wine harvest and fell in love. He interned in Mâconnais and Beaujolais wineries until finally settling in with Catherine and Dominique Derain where he learned about organic and biodynamic winemaking. In 2007, Julien purchased grapes with the support and equipment of the Derain's and began Domaine Sextant. Today, he has a winery and cellar in St. Aubin, as well as half a hectare of his own vines. In addition, he continues making wine for Domaine Derain with his consistent, natural, and forward-thinking style.

His is a project steeped in unrivaled passion and exuberance. He's become a staple of "natural" winemaking in the region, always pushing courageously towards the unheimlich, verboten, and unique.

As is so often the case, to know the wine is to know the man. Julien loves nothing more than to laugh with you about wine. Each and every parcel - every single experiment - is a thrill for him and thus for me. Macerations, infusions, idiosyncratic parcels, all make up the ebullient constellation that is this domain. And then, suddenly, out of nowhere, a perfectly rendered Pinot Noir, a classically gorgeous Chardonnay, or a bottle that speaks to its place name and beyond. Julien's wines can taste like St Aubin from Mars or from a fairy tale vintage here on Earth.