Location: France, Loire, Côte Roannaise

Grapes: Aligoté

Soil: Granite

Winemaking: Certified organic and biodynamic farming. Grapes are harvested by hand and sorted manually. Grapes are left whole-cluster and directly pressed. The wine ferments using native yeasts only and ages in old 500-liter barriques sur lie for 6 to 12 months.

From the Importer: If he is not out working the vines, chances are high that Vincent Giraudon is working as a line cook at his family’s longtime restaurant Jacques Coeur in the Renaison. He has balanced his two passions—cooking and winemaking—gracefully since he took over a tiny 0.5ha back in 2004, having recently graduated viticultural school in Burgundy and completed a number of stages in St-Joseph, the Beaujolais, and Alsace. Vincent’s parcels of old-vine Gamay set over granitic soils prove to be a compelling counterpoint to some of the most prized sites in the Beaujolais. He has slowly added to his holdings which now total 4ha in all. A small portion (0.5ha) of his vines are planted to Aligoté, which is quite rare in the area.

Vincent has been utilizing organic farming practices since he began his journey in winemaking, and officially received certification back in 2015. Biodynamic farming practices began in 2021. He works alongside his close friend Romain Paire (of Domaine des Pothiers) in the cellar. All grapes are harvested by hand, only natural yeasts are used during fermentation, and sulfur levels are kept to a minimum