u/ministere_du_jus

100% Syrah from parcels in Tournon, Mauves and Saint-Jean-de-Muzols in the Saint-Joseph appellation. Partially destemmed, spontaneously fermented in open vats with pigeage and remontage. 16–18 months in large used demi-muids (600 L). No fining or filtration. Minimal use of sulphur.
🏠 Pierre Gonon founded his domaine in Mauves in 1956. In the 88/89 season, his sons Jean and Pierre Gonon took over the domaine after their father fell ill.
But from what I’ve been able to sniff out, it was actually only in the mid-2010s that prices for the domaine’s wines really started to take off. From 2011, the brothers began destemming a much smaller proportion, between 0–20%, so the vast majority of their wines are made with 80–100% whole bunches.
Today, the brothers farm 10.5 hectares. The domaine is certified organic.
Super perfumed and ethereal wine. I fucking love Syrah when it has this kind of lift and you can completely lose yourself in the glass.
Violets, dried lavender, dark cherries, Ribena, blackberries, butcher’s shop, anise, pepper and bonfire smoke. Velvety medium+ tannins that coat the mouth so beautifully, and a brisk medium+ acidity.
So tightly packed and intense, yet at the same time so juicy! 🥤🥤🥤

50% Savagnin Jaune, 50% Savagnin Vert planted in 2003 and 1990 on Lias marl.
14% alcohol. Topped up for 6 years in 228, 350 and 650L used oak respectively. Total acidity 5.6 g/L. No added SO₂.
🏠 I’ve now reached the point in my modest amateur career as a wine writer where I’ve already described the producer in a previous post, so it’ll be a little less detailed this time.
The domaine is located in the town of Rotalier in southern Jura, where Julien, Charline and Romain Labet have 14 hectares. Approx. 11 are used for Chardonnay and Savagnin and 3 hectares for Poulsard, Trousseau and Pinot.
Curry, salted lemon, walnuts, toasted hazelnuts, hay, windfall apples, apple juice, caramel, a little paint can. Had it blind and initially thought it was Labet’s vin de voile, but then we managed to narrow it down to Élevage Long. I think it became harder to distinguish flor and ox with some age 😬
Just a completely insane wine. Such a compact wine with endless amounts of good flavour, sky-high acidity. There’s just a lot of everything, and some also thought it became too intense, but I actually think it’s absolutely fucking great🥹⚡️✨

50% Savagnin Jaune, 50% Savagnin Vert planted in 2003 and 1990 on Lias marl.
14% alcohol. Topped up for 6 years in 228, 350 and 650L used oak respectively. Total acidity 5.6 g/L. No added SO₂.
🏠 I’ve now reached the point in my modest amateur career as a wine writer where I’ve already described the producer in a previous post, so it’ll be a little less detailed this time.
The domaine is located in the town of Rotalier in southern Jura, where Julien, Charline and Romain Labet have 14 hectares. Approx. 11 are used for Chardonnay and Savagnin and 3 hectares for Poulsard, Trousseau and Pinot.
Curry, salted lemon, walnuts, toasted hazelnuts, hay, windfall apples, apple juice, caramel, a little paint can. Had it blind and initially thought it was Labet’s vin de voile, but then we managed to narrow it down to Élevage Long. I think it became harder to distinguish flor and ox with some age 😬
Just a completely insane wine. Such a compact wine with endless amounts of good flavour, sky-high acidity. There’s just a lot of everything, and some also thought it became too intense, but I actually think it’s absolutely fucking great🥹⚡️✨

100% Cabernet Franc from 70-year-old vines on a southeast-facing slope in Coutures in Anjou. 14.1% alcohol, 10 days of carbonic maceration under Co2followed by a week of daily pigeage. Two years of élevage in fiberglass tanks. No filtration, fining or So2.

🏠 In Coutures, Loire, you’ll find the château that houses Domaine Les Jardins de la Martinière. Wine has been grown on the château’s vineyards since the 1700s. In 2018, the Japanese importer of the domaine took over the winery from Xavier Caillard. Today, it is run by the granddaughter, Kaya Tsutsui. The domaine is certified organic and follows the Japanese Fukuoka philosophy, which apparently is somewhat in line with Steiner’s biodynamics.

Absolutely captivating, perfumed nose, really a wine for sniffing! Hanging meat, green pepper, black pepper, smoke, blackcurrant, blackberry, rusty nails, dried violets, a little VA, medium grippy tannins, fresh medium+ acidity. 2018 must have been the first vintage under Tsutsui?
It was, at any rate, my first bottle from Les Jardins de la Martinière. Honestly think this is absolutely huge!
What’s the vibe around the whites? 🧐🤩

100% Chardonnay from 80-year-old vines, 13% alcohol. Really difficult to track down precise specs, but élevage in a mix of oak and amphora. I didn’t taste any obvious oak, so I’m assuming it’s old barrels. Biodynamic philosophy with horses working the vineyards. No fining or filtration. I’m assuming malo is fully completed.

🏠 Renaud Boyer originally trained as an engineer, but had the opportunity to take over his uncle Thierry Guyot’s vineyards in 2001, with his first vintage released in 2004. Renaud is particularly inspired by Patrick Meyer from Alsace and Pierre Overnoy, and the idea of absolute minimum intervention. Today, the domaine covers 3 hectares across Puligny-Montrachet, Saint-Romain and Beaune. A little hack is that his Bourgogne Blanc is supposedly declassified Puligny fruit. Haven’t tasted it though 😬

Lemon oil, ripe pear, acacia and white flowers, with a little oxidative thing going on. Burnt almonds, whipped butter and a little vanilla thing, all backed by a salty finish 💎
Quite rich in texture, with electric medium+ acidity.
I completely fucked up the blind tasting and called it a big Savagnin. Love it when wines punch above their weight from lesser-known villages 🙂‍↕️

Un chardo de dingueee🤪🤪🤪🤪

Armand Rousseau Mazy-Chambertin 2012 💄💄💄👩🏻‍🚒👩🏻‍🚒👩🏻‍🚒🍂🍂🍂
100% Pinot Noir from the Grand Cru vineyard Mazy-Chambertin in Gevrey-Chambertin. The vines are rooted in shallow Bathonian limestone over limestone scree from the Combe Lavaux alluvial cone. Fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged for around 18–20 months in French oak barrels before bottling. 13% alcohol.

🏠 Domaine Armand Rousseau was founded in the early 1900s by Armand Rousseau, who inherited several vineyard parcels in Gevrey-Chambertin and gradually built what would become one of Burgundy’s most legendary estates. Following his death in 1959, his son Charles Rousseau expanded the domaine into a Grand Cru powerhouse. Today, the estate is run by Eric Rousseau alongside his daughter Cyrielle, representing the family’s fourth generation of winemakers.

An incredibly expressive bouquet elevates from the glass. Ripe cherries, strawberry compote, blackberries, blackcurrants, black tea, liquorice, tobacco, grandfather’s wardrobe, forest floor, cinnamon, cloves and a subtle animal note.
On the palate, the tannins are completely integrated and unbelievably silky. Acidity sits around medium+ to high, bringing tremendous energy, while the concentration is immense without ever feeling heavy. Light on its feet, like a ballerina.
There are wines you remember. And then there are wines that redefine your reference point.
Quite possibly the greatest wine I’ve ever tasted. ❤️

Toscana IGP, Soldera Case Basse 2019 🐉🐉🐉🐉
100% Sangiovese. 14% alcohol. Spontaneous fermentation followed by 44 months in large Slavonian oak casks before release. No pesticides, no herbicides, no fining, no filtration. Just seriously great natural juice.

🏠 Case Basse was founded by Gianfranco Soldera and his wife Graziella in 1972/1973. Located southwest of Montalcino, Soldera spent decades obsessing over biodiversity, incredibly low yields and ruthless grape selection.
In 2012, the estate suffered one of the most absurd tragedies in modern wine history. A former employee, seeking revenge after falling out with the family, opened the valves on several casks and destroyed around 60,000 liters of wine. Several vintages were never released. You can’t help but wonder if the wines would cost a little less today if he’d screamed into a pillow instead.
Maybe the hype was inevitable.
After the scandal, Gianfranco left the Brunello Consortium in 2013.
Gianfranco passed away in 2019, and today the estate is primarily run by his daughter Monica and her husband Paolo. I believe his son Mauro is also involved.

Wildly perfumed. The glass absolutely explodes with cherries, wild strawberries, dried flowers, Earl Grey, blood orange, rust, VA that reminds me of salt and vinegar chips, fresh tobacco, leather and the smell of a woodworking shop in a basement.
Silky, ultra fine tannins that completely coat every corner of your mouth.
Beautifully high, vibrant acidity and 14% alcohol that you barely even notice.
This wine is absolutely insane.
That said, you’ll need a pretty serious wallet if you want to taste it. 🙂‍↔️
The craziest part is that the weekend after tasting the 2019, a very generous man stopped by our table at Palægade with a bottle of the 1999 and let us have a small glass. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!!
If you’re served this blind, just trust the sheer greatness in the glass. 🤝😂

Without a doubt one of the greatest wines I’ve ever tasted. 🙎🏻‍♂️🙎🏻‍♂️🙎🏻‍♂️
If you liked this post feel free to go visit my IG, for more Wine reviews ❤️

Toscana IGP, Soldera Case Basse 2019 🐉🐉🐉🐉
100% Sangiovese. 14% alcohol. Spontaneous fermentation followed by 44 months in large Slavonian oak casks before release. No pesticides, no herbicides, no fining, no filtration. Just seriously great natural juice.

🏠 Case Basse was founded by Gianfranco Soldera and his wife Graziella in 1972/1973. Located southwest of Montalcino, Soldera spent decades obsessing over biodiversity, incredibly low yields and ruthless grape selection.
In 2012, the estate suffered one of the most absurd tragedies in modern wine history. A former employee, seeking revenge after falling out with the family, opened the valves on several casks and destroyed around 60,000 liters of wine. Several vintages were never released. You can’t help but wonder if the wines would cost a little less today if he’d screamed into a pillow instead.
Maybe the hype was inevitable.
After the scandal, Gianfranco left the Brunello Consortium in 2013.
Gianfranco passed away in 2019, and today the estate is primarily run by his daughter Monica and her husband Paolo. I believe his son Mauro is also involved.

Wildly perfumed. The glass absolutely explodes with cherries, wild strawberries, dried flowers, Earl Grey, blood orange, rust, VA that reminds me of salt and vinegar chips, fresh tobacco, leather and the smell of a woodworking shop in a basement.
Silky, ultra fine tannins that completely coat every corner of your mouth.
Beautifully high, vibrant acidity and 14% alcohol that you barely even notice.
This wine is absolutely insane.
That said, you’ll need a pretty serious wallet if you want to taste it. 🙂‍↔️
The craziest part is that the weekend after tasting the 2019, a very generous man stopped by our table at Palægade with a bottle of the 1999 and let us have a small glass. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!!
If you’re served this blind, just trust the sheer greatness in the glass. 🤝😂

Without a doubt one of the greatest wines I’ve ever tasted. 🙎🏻‍♂️🙎🏻‍♂️🙎🏻‍♂️

Stéphane Bernaudeau Les Terres Blanches 2023 😶‍🌫️😶‍🌫️😶‍🌫️🪿🪿🪿🐚🐚🐚

100% Chenin Blanc from 80-year-old vines in Martigné-Briand, Anjou, Loire. Natural fermentation, 12 months sur lie on fine lees in used barrels, no fining or filtration, 12% alcohol. Les Terres Blanches refers to the pale, limestone-rich soils, although I couldn’t quite figure out whether it’s also a lieu-dit like some of his other wines.

🏠 Stéphane Bernaudeau spent several years learning under Mark Angeli at La Ferme de la Sansonnière before establishing his own domaine with his wife Isabelle in 2000. Today they farm 3.5 hectares, exclusively planted to Chenin Blanc and divided into five different cuvées. The philosophy is biodynamic, although not certified: horses in the vineyards, no wire trellising, but instead free-standing gobelet vines.

Quince, yuzu, underripe peach, beeswax, sour nectarines, wet wool, chamomile tea, honey, incredibly mineral and stony. Almost waxy in texture, with a touch of phenolic bitterness, plenty of salt, and tremindiously high acidity that’ll have sweat beading on your upper lip.
I’m convinced there’s a truly great wine hiding underneath. It tastes like a serious bottle, but right now it just feels a little too tight and youthful. I reckon this one will live forever!?? 👴🏼👵🏼