One of the more dynamic winemaking teams in the Anjou today is the partnership of Dominique Sirot and Alexis Soulas at Fief Noir. These are wines that are vivacious and pure, honest in their depiction of the true character of each grape and irresistible in their aromatic clarity and flavorful power.
The next generation of talent in the Côte Chalonnaise has arrived—and the name that’s causing a serious stir is Maxime Cottenceau. His exemplary wines are a delicious sign of the extraordinary potential of both the appellation of Montagny, and the Côte Chalonnaise overall.
“We go where the wind takes us,” was long the motto of Nathalie and Benjamin Boyer, two talented winemakers-for-hire, who for many years crafted wines for other domaines across France. After living in regions as diverse as Burgundy, Corsica and Monbazillac, the duo decided it was time to do their own thing and found a perfect piece of land in Fitou, Languedoc.
Charles Sparr represents the eighth generation of his family of negociants-vignerons to tend vines in Alsace; Amelie Sparr hails from the larger Barmès-Buecher winemaking clan, natives of Wettolsheim. Inheriting small parcels from both sides of the family, the young couple started their own domaine in 2017, the goal to create dry wines of terroir according to biodynamics.
Totaling some 25 acres in the Côte de Nuits, Domaine du Couvent owns a grand diversity of terroirs, including parcels in Gevrey, Chambolle and Vougeot, as well as Vosne, Nuits and Marsannay — not to mention three monopole vineyards.
With many vines planted in 1924 and terroir that echoes Châteauneuf’s finest, winemakers Marilou Vacheron and her brother Axel are more than well-positioned to craft seriously compelling and character-rich southern blends.
Winemakers Xavier and Caroline Perromat have worked tirelessly for more than a decade to restore their family’s historic property here in the heart of Graves, just to the north of the famous sweet wine region of Barsac.
We like to call Domaine Sauvète wines “stress-free” because what’s in the bottle comes not only with an iron-clad organic certification but also the know-how of four generations of artisan winemakers in Touraine.
Romain and Damien Bouchard founded their winemaking estate only in 2016, yet they are the fourth generation of their clan to toil the classic and chalky, Kimmeridgian soils of Chablis. For generations, the family provided other winemakers with peerless Chardonnay fruit, pulled from impressive holdings in grand cru and premier cru vineyards, planted carefully by family hands.