Tasting Brun, Pas St. Martin, Danjou-Banessy, Purity

Jean Paul Brun Terres Dorees Beaujolais Blanc 2022 $21.99

We tasted the red a couple weeks back, this is an old favorite; we’re happy it’s back for a bit. 

Jean-Paul Brun's domaine is located in Charnay, a village in the Southern Beaujolais in an area known as the "Region of Golden Stones." Brun is the owner and winemaker at this 40-acre family estate and is well known for his Beaujolais, which he makes with minimal intervention, minimal sulfur, and without the use of industrial yeasts, leading to wines that are elegant & delicate, with purity of fruit, and great character and depth. 

This is 100% Chardonnay vinified in stainless steel and concrete and drinks a bit like a good Macon; lots of green apple, fresh lemon, stony minerality. Get it while you can. 

Domaine du Pas St Martin Sous le Tilleul Grolleau Rouge, IGP Val de Loire 2022 $18.99

Laurent Charrier and his mother run Domaine du Pas St Martin, a small property in Saumur that also has holdings in Anjou and Coteaux du Layon. Laurent took over production in 1994 from his grandfather (winemaking skipped a generation, as his father wasn’t interested). Laurent immediately set out to receive organic certification, which he acquired in 1997. The domaine itself is set among troglodyte caves formed out of ancient fossilized marine life that covered the region 10 million years ago. During the middle ages the caves served the Protestants as secret places of worship. 

Grolleau (Noir) is generally a grape for rosé or blending in the Loire as it tends to make high acid, kind of lean wine all on its own. But when done correctly, it can make a fresh, fruity, and spicy little number like Sous le Tilleul (translates to: under the lime tree). This wine is fermented whole cluster in stainless steel. Put a little chill on it; it’s versatile and will take you from the beach to the fall table. Fall!?! It’s coming…

Domaine Danjou-Banessy Supernova Espira de l’Agly VdF Blanc 2022 $31.99

Domaine Danjou-Banessy is a 17-hectare estate located in French Catalonia, just north of the town of Perpignan, and close to where the Spanish border and the Mediterranean meet. Perpignan is surrounded by the Pyrenee Mountains to the north, south, and west, and by the Mediterranean Sea to the east. The highest peak, ''Le Canigou’' reaches 9137 feet. Directly to the south of Perpignan is the ''Les Albères’ mountain range, which represents the geographical border between France and Spain. People here identify more with Spain than France, and many consider themselves Catalan rather than French or Occitan, and many speak Catalan as well. The climate is Mediterranean: hot and dry. The landscape is rugged and the vines are old and gnarly. As far as white grapes go, the region is known for Muscat. 

The domaine is managed by two brothers, Benoît and Sébastien, who inherited the estate from their grandfather in 2001. For generations Rivesaltes was the focus here, but the brothers have shifted to the production of dry red and white wines, some more adventurous and experimental than others.

The vineyards are farmed biodynamically and organically and have in fact never been treated with chemicals of any kind. The average age of the vines is over 60 years, and they are all indigenous varieties such as Muscat d’Alexandrie, Maccabeu, Carignan, Mourvedre, Grenache, and Syrah. They produce multiple cuvées that reflect the distinct parcels of vineyards with completely different soils: the Estaca vineyard is comprised of marl and schist, with silica and a trace of iron. The Truffière and Myrs vineyards lie on black schist and limestone; Clos des Escounils, is a mixture of clay and limestone.

The brothers take as non-interventionist approach in the vineyards and cellar as possible, but the wines don’t make themselves, so…techniques they employ include crushing by foot, whole cluster fermentation, wild yeasts, sometimes extended elevage, sometimes elevage sous voile, or “under a veil” of yeast, like in Jura, or with sherry.

Supernova  is a finely woven, complex, lush and expressive orange wine of Muscat d’Alexandrie, from 70+ year old vines grown on slate. It's unfined, unfiltered, and bottled by gravity. The rich texture that hints at orange cream and dried fruit and herbs is backed by a tension that lifts the fruit and stimulates the palate. Supernova sees two weeks skin contact and six months maceration in barrels with a little oxidation. It’s slightly wild, in a “landscape taken back by nature” kind of way. We have a little bit of other the brother’s other cuvées…but not much.

Purity Wine Blackbyrd Sonoma Mountain Syrah 2016 $31.99

Purity Wine came into being in 2013. Husband and wife Noel Diaz and Barrie Quan had worked in the restaurant industry (Noel as a server, sommelier, and wine buyer; Barrie as an events manager) and Noel’s parents were Mexican farm laborers in Central Valley; Purity is a project they launched to build upon the passion Noel has for organic farming and lo-fi wine. 

Purity is now a small warehouse winery and bar in Richmond’s (across the bridge from San Francisco) waterfront marina; that warehouse area is now a growing, intergenerational community of natural winemakers.

We love and fully relate to this quote: “We were just fucking around, having fun,” says founder Noel Diaz. “It’s a mix of creatives. We don’t overthink anything. It has never been forced. It’s just natural.”

About Blackbyd Syrah, from Noel: The vineyard is on Sonoma Mountain at about 1600 feet elevation. It's a cool site, hard to get sugar up above 13/14 degrees abv. It's certified organic. Soils are mostly volcanic, but long ago the area was a sea bed.

It’s foot tread, whole cluster maceration for about 10 days with punchdowns twice a day. Aged in used oak for about a year and a half before bottling from barrel by hand with a syphon.

We couldn’t get enough of Blackbyrd, here’s our note: organic, low-SO2 Sonoma Mountain Syrah. Gracefully aged, compellingly delicious: black pepper & olive, cloves, a hint of Italian red vermouth, oily herbs like rosemary....low abv, a light touch all around. Serve with a slight chill. 

Super yum to all the above.