Domaine Aléofane Crozes Hermitage Blanc 2022

Location: France, Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage

Winemaker: Natacha Chave

Grapes: 60% Marsanne and 40% Roussanne

From the Importer Jeffrey Alpert Selections: Before founding her own domaine, Natacha Chave immersed herself in academia, eventually obtaining a Master’s degree in philosophy of language. It seemed inevitable to Natacha that one day she would return to the vines and work in the family domaine, but something shifted within Natacha as soon as her brother Yann took over from their father, the great Benard Chave. It became clear to Natacha that she wanted to branch out and start her own domaine, one that would be founded exclusively on the tenants she found to be the most integral and essential to winemaking. In 2003, she shifted away from academia and enrolled in the University of Wine in Suze-la-Rouse. Upon graduation, Natacha proceeded to obtain a diploma from the Professional Agricultural Capacity, and worked for various winemakers throughout the area. A small 1.5ha plot within St. Jospeh appellation became available in 2004, which lead Natacha to purchase her first vineyard site. She named her domaine Aléofane in homage to John Macmillan Brown’s apocryphal island wherein fermented beverages, such as wine, prove to be rare and healing for the human body. She has slowly increased her holdings over time and now farms 8.5ha of land in total. She employs biodynamic preparations in the vineyards, such as horsetail, seaweed, and nettle in order to naturally stimulate the strength of the plant. All harvests are done by hand, only indigenous yeasts are used, and her wines are neither fined nor filtered. Domaine Aléofane received Ecocert certification in 2010. Natacha’s wines are true gems–essential offerings to the wines of the Northern Rhône.