In 1998 Bruno Rochard took over the reigns from his parents at Domaine de Mirebeau, situated in Anjou close to the town of Rablay sur Layon. Before Bruno took over, the domaine was farming grapes and making wine conventionally, so Bruno undertook the task of converting the 6 ha to organic production. The vines consist of 50% Chenin Blanc, 27% Cabernet Franc and 33% Grolleau, the latter of which Rochard champions as a perfect grape for red wine production, particularly with soils of clay and pebbles which keep the vines neither too hot nor too cold. His first vintage for Grolleau Rouge was 2004, with relatively low yields, however the wines won big on depth and structure.

Hans Muller and Lotte Pfeffer-Muller are vignerons that have got it right in Rheinhessen. Their work shows commitment and respect for their terroir, even if it makes them stand out amongst their neighbours. They were certified Biodynamic in 2008 but in reality the vineyards have been farmed organically since the days of their parents in the late 70's. Even more impressively, they agreed to lower their SO2 levels to ZERO for their Riesling Trocken, Dienheim Riesling trocken, Scheurebe and Spätburgunder a few years ago, and we are so proud of having their wines in our stock!

Emmanuel Giboulot is an unusual creature in Burgundy. He used to want to be an actor before he started the complex task of creating a totally new domaine in Burgundy, not something you often see these days. Of course purchasing land in Burgundy was (and still is) eye-wateringly expensive, so Emmanuel started with less than 1ha of his father's land, which at the time was mostly planted with other crops. Since then, he has been carefully adding one parcel at a time and now has 10 ha spread over Côte Chalonnaise and Hauts-Côtes de Nuits. Emmanuel was lucky enough that his father had been working the land organically since the 1970's,and in 1996 he converted the already organic land to biodyamic. In the winery Emmaunel prefers a hands-off approach, aiming for minimal SO2 additions and use of indgenous yeasts. The whites ferment in old oak casks whilst the reds are fermnted in stainless steel. They are then aged in old casks between 10-20 months.

Hans Muller and Lotte Pfeffer-Muller are vignerons that have got it right in Rheinhessen. Their work shows commitment and respect for their terroir, even if it makes them stand out amongst their neighbours. They were certified Biodynamic in 2008 but in reality the vineyards have been farmed organically since the days of their parents in the late 70's. Even more impressively, they agreed to lower their SO2 levels to ZERO for their Riesling Trocken, Dienheim Riesling trocken, Scheurebe and Spätburgunder a few years ago, and we are so proud of having their wines in our stock!

Hans Muller and Lotte Pfeffer-Muller are vignerons that have got it right in Rheinhessen. Their work shows commitment and respect for their terroir, even if it makes them stand out amongst their neighbours. They were certified Biodynamic in 2008 but in reality the vineyards have been farmed organically since the days of their parents in the late 70's. Even more impressively, they agreed to lower their SO2 levels to ZERO for their Riesling Trocken, Dienheim Riesling trocken, Scheurebe and Spätburgunder a few years ago, and we are so proud of having their wines in our stock!

Locally, Mariano is best known for his wizardry in the wine cellar. He knows a thing or two about fermentation! In the rest of the world, he is known for making clean, pure, easy and highly enjoyable wines - many of them of the Ancestral / Pet Nat / fun bubbles type. Whereas other winemakers may be focusing on terroir and old traditions, Mariano cares mostly about the health, purity and enjoyment of the wines (one of his wines are named ENJOY....!), not shying away from experimenting with different ways of fermenting the grapes. Sometimes this leads to white wines that look more like rosé, because of starting the fermentation with the lees from a red wine - or a wine that tastes more like unfermented grape juice, because the grape juice was essentially pasteurized before fermenting in March(!). Most of all, Mariano's wines reflect the kind of person he is. Lighthearted, healthy and happy. But always with a feeling of 'Here is someone who knows what he is doing!' We are very happy to be working with this lovely soul!

Monsieur Sylvain Bock and his quest to make wine that is a triumphant display of grapes and their surroundings is inspiring. He wasn't born into winemaking, or at least he thought he wasn't, both of his parents were teachers. He later found out that his grandfather was a well known vigneron from Alsace which sealed his fate. Sylvain worked in other people's wineries for 10 years before establishing his own domaine BOCK in 2010 with just over 4ha in Alba la Romaine and Valvignières in the South of Ardèche. Luckily for him, the vines were certified biodynamic even before Sylvain purchased them. The reds (Grenache, Carignan, Merlot and Syrah) are vinified separately and are subject to carbonic macération and then aged for 4-5 months in old barrels. Sylvain's Chardonnay receives a small amount of time in oak and the Grenache Blanc is fermented in steel tanks. Sans soufre ajouté!

Oriol set out to be a chemist, but after a single harvest in his home area in Catalunya, he decided to study winemaking. Later he landed a job teaching oenology, which gave him a chance to pursue his dream - to revive the old vineyards of his homeland and make pure, unmasked wines that display their terroir with incredible precision. His white wines are primarily Pansa Blanca (the local name for Xarel.lo), sometimes with a bit of Garnacha Blanca, but more than anything they are vinified vineyard by vineyard. An extreme example is the 'La Prats' vineyard, which has more that 50 different varieties growing on it, yielding a wine which is just as rosé as it is orange. Other beauties include the 'La Bella', a white wine made from 80 years-old Pansa Blanca with 11 days of skin contact, and 'El Monstre', made from Pansa Negre with a small amount of Pansa Blanca and Pansa Rosado. The wines see no chemicals or winemaking techniques whatsoever.

Sébastien Chatillon flyttade till Vallabrix i departementet Gard 2016 och hans första årgångar har rönt stor uppmärksamhet. Men så har han också sällsynt talang och har hunnit med en hel del trots sin ålder. I slutet av tonåren, när han fortfarande jobbade runt och sökte mening med livet, slutade ofta kvällarna i en kompis pappas vinkällare och tanken slog honom: ”om jag nu gillar vin så mycket kanske jag skulle kunna jobba med det här?”. Lyckligtvis fick han den bästa av lärare i René Mosse som öppnade världen med naturliga viner för honom och det var exakt vad han sökte. Efter fyra år i Anjou gick flytten till Paris där René presenterade honom för Iñaki Aizpitarte på Chateaubriand och som 25-åring blev han chefsommelier på av väldens mest kända restauranger. Det fanns det ingen återvändo. Sedermera öppnade han även den lilla vinbutiken Le Cave som introducerade naturliga viner som INTE kom från Frankrike för parisarna. Efter sju år i Paris var det dags för nästa steg – att göra eget vin. Valet föll på Gard för att det finns flera olika klimat, druvor och jordmåner inom ett relativt litet område. Här har han köpt en liten vinmark men till största delen köps druvor in från vänner han litar på. I vineriet blandar han druvor från olika lägen och färger och låter dem vila på flera olika typer av kärl. Allt buteljeras ofiltrerat och utan tillsatt svavel.