We have just received our first shipment of the year from mercurial vigneron Jérôme Guichard of Domaine Sauveterre.
Based in the sleepy village of Montbellet in the Mâconnais, Jérôme trained under the legendary Guy Blanchard and he continues the work of his mentor in the vineyard, with a focus on helping the vines stay healthy naturally, through the use of herbal plants and organic teas.
This uncompromising approach continues in the cellar, where the wines rest sur lie until ready and nothing is added at any stage. While not for everyone, these pure and lively wines are thrillingly unique.
We have just received the following wines.
DOMAINE SAUVETERRE Ah! 2018
Aligoté from a forty year old vineyard planted over pure limestone in Uchizy. This was given a long, gentle press and aged in old barriques for a year. A lean, mineral wine that hums with life and quite remarkable acidity. It makes for a beautiful apéritif.
DOMAINE SAUVETERRE Bouchat 2017
Chardonnay from a forty year old vineyard in Montbellet. The soil here is heavier than in his other parcels, with a little more clay and sand, producing a rounder, fuller expression of the grape. The fruit was given a direct press and the wine rested on its lees for eighteen months before bottling. It impresses with soaring aromatics, ripe stone fruit and a savoury, mineral finish.
DOMAINE SAUVETERRE Promess 2018
Gamay from a forty year old vineyard planted over pure limestone in Uchizy. Grapes were fermented as whole bunches for a month, before being pressed off to old barrels for nine months of élevage. Taut and linear, this wows with bright, raspberry-toned fruit and neat tannins.
DOMAINE SAUVETERRE Noir de Creuse Noire 2018
From just over a hectare of Gamay in Leynes, where the Mâconnais meets Beaujolais. Planted in 1946, the vines grow over basalt amongst woodlands at the foot of a volcanic mountain range. The grapes were fermented as whole bunches for two months, before being pressed off to old barrels to rest for nine months. Dark and deep, this is a complex, powerful expression of the grape in which everything seems to be in place.