Le Petit Domaine de Gimios, Domaine in Black, Karnage
Hi all,
Here is a roundup of recent highlights that are now on offer—special wines from a mother and son duo in the Languedoc, elegant new guard punk juice from Alsace, and a new and mostly negociant project from Charles Dagand, formerly one half of Jura’s famed Domaine de l’Octavin.
Under the name Le Petit Domaine de Gimios, Pierre Lavaysse and his mother Anne-Marie make the sort of delicate and deceptively simple handcrafted wines that I find myself craving more and more. Admittedly, I already have an existing obsession with southern French wines from the Languedoc and Roussillon, but there is that special subtle something found in these bottles that really does it for me. Working entirely with old vines that produce a high concentration yet low yield of fruit that were purchased in 1993, the Lavaysse’s make elegant expressions of Muscat both sparkling and still, as well as wines born from a host of ancestral and rustic red field varietals. The Lavaysse’s wines are perfect for the current holiday season but are just as fun to tuck away in the cellar for a beautiful surprise later come spring time.
Browse here.
Lambert Spielmann is making exactly the kinds of Alsatian wines that I want to be drinking regularly—soaringly aromatic whites with gentle macerations and delicately put together, nuanced reds. A musician and former caretaker of the elderly, Lambert has quickly blown me away with this batch of 2020 releases, showcasing a carefree and almost fuck-all style with a clear backbone of confidence in the craft. In contrast to the punked-out and kind of ridiculous cartoony labels, these are wines of romance, sensitivity and ingenuity—all come highly recommended.
Browse here.
Charles Dagand is most widely known for his involvement as one half of Domaine de l’Octavin. Following both a romantic and professional fallout with Alice Bouvot, he went on to start his own small project in the Jura under the name Carlito. The Carlito wines are strange and mercurial, both wild and mellow, and I recommend experiencing them if ever available. After a couple of devastating harvests (nature hasn’t been forgiving in the Jura lately), Charles has since gone on to form a mostly negociant project under the name Karnage with Stéphane Planche, who runs the cave Les Jardins de St. Vincent in Arbois. Whereas the Carlito wines were avant garde leaning, heady and serious, the Karnage project hits the sweet spot of juice + headiness. Like a short and addictive song, these are humorous wines that don’t reveal everything at first, and keep you going back for more. While most of the cuvées are assembled from fruit bought from friends around France, including a glorious blend of Merlot and Alicante from Gerald Oustric’s Mazel domaine in the Ardeche, there is also the proprietary Savak 2018, a Savagnin aged under flor, and maybe the most glou glou vin jaune I’ve drank.
Browse here.
Lastly, some words on Pierre Beauger, and about the day that I got blitzed at his house in the Auvergne this past October.
Much love and thanks for reading!
Brian