WHOLESALE LIST
All of these wines are produced by small growers who make wines that we find exciting, vibrant and delicious. In general they are at the very least organic, rely on natural yeasts for fermentation with minimal additions in the cellar, sometimes none. The list is subject to change. All prices ex VAT.
DOMAINE LA COTELETTE, COTE DE SAONE, BURGUNDY
BENOIT KILLIAN
Benoit Killian is a musician, wine-seller and more recently wine-maker. After a chance meeting with a bottle from Marcel Lapierre back in 2007, his head was turned toward natural wine and he went to visit Marcel, a revelatory experience. Through the next five years he visited many producers and sold their wines, in between his musical commitments. In 2012 he had been told by Guy Bussière that his domaine was for sale. But at the time did not have the money, the space to vinify and was busy with music.
It was sold to someone else and he thought that would be the last of that story. In 2018 he drove past and saw the vines were a wasteland, not tended too. Now could be the time, he knew the potential of these vineyards which had never had chemicals on them. Guy’s grandfather planted the vines at the turn of the last century and resisted the oncoming of chemical agriculture.With the help of friends like Marc Soyard, Gilles Ballorin & Romuald Valot he checked the vines were recoverable and yes - with hard work they were. Benoit is making precise, delicious wines that offer a taste of the potential of this little heralded part of Burgundy. Predictably, there isn’t much to go around.
ALIDORES 2023 £19
100% Aligote Dore (Golden Aligote) hence the name. Benoit waits for the grapes to be golden before picking, ensuring a balance of beautiful ripe fruit with that trademark Aligote acidity. This is a delicious expression of what this variety is capable of, a bottle that is alkso very much worth cellaring.
MELIGOTE 2023 £23.50
From a parcel of 2/3 Aligote & 1/3 Melon , of which two-thirds of the parcel are own-rooted (ungrafted). Benoit pressed the grapes direct and aged in barrel. The Aligote brings tension and focus, the Melon roundness and aromatics. Already drinking well, this is fleshy and textural with round fruit, youthful and fun now, it will gain complexity with age.
WATERMELON MAN 2022 £16.50
Benoit Killian is a very talented percussionist and this wine is his tribute to one of his musical heroes, Herbie Hancock.
Usually a white wine, in 2022 he had problems with some fermentation so added the marc (skins after pressing) of the ripopee 2023 (a blend of Gamay & Aligote). This has given a beautiful pink colour to the wine, fragrant and bright with beautiful fruit. After a bit of air, it unfurls into a wine with beautiful fruit, bright and fresh and a zingy line of acidity. Delicious!
LA RIPOPEE 2023 £21
A delicious blend of 60% Aligoté and 40% Gamay, whole bunches immersed in Gamay juice which ferments during the 10 days of vatting. The juice comes from the bleeding of the tank every day of another tank of full carbonic Gamay. Reductive on opening with a bit of time it unfurls into a bright wine with a lovely balance of the acidity and fruit of the Aligoté with pretty aromatics of the Gamay.
RIGHT PINOT 2023 £23.50
100% Pinot Noir from his younger vines, still around 40 years old. Around 12 days whole bunch maceration. A little reduction on opening unfurls into a wine full pf pretty red fruit, with lovely balance and texture, standing somewhere between the Jura & Burgundy in character.
TROGNES DE PINOT 2023 £25.50
From his oldest vines of Pinot Noir, Benoit macerates whole bunch for around 12 days before pressing off and ageing in old barrels. Has incredible depth and complexity from the old vines, yet is light and very moreish. One of our favourites every year and 2023 is exceptional.
COTES DE BEAUNE, BURGUNDY
ARNAUD CHAPUIS
Our visit to Arnaud came from a tip-off from our friend Jesse who was working with Domaine Dandelion at the time (Arnaud works some of Chandon’s parcels, where Christian from Dandelion is head winemaker.). On a beautifully misty morning in the Haute Côtes De Beaune we saw his family vineyard, Aligoté and Pinot planted by his parents, originally sold to a co-operative but now Arnaud makes his own wine and has recently planted more of these varietals. The wines are electric - lightly extracted juices full of energy and very pure fruit. We have finally managed to get some wine from Arnaud, but predictably there is not a lot to go around.
OUVERTURE ROUGE 2023 £24.50 / £54
Ask for availability
MAVILLY-MANDELOT, HAUTES COTES DE BEAUNE, BURGUNDY
FRANCOIS GRANGE, DOMAINE DE MANDELOT
François Grangé has spent 15 years working at the local biodynamic estate Chandon de Brialles, whilst in the latter years of that journey starting his own small family mangalitza pig farm, where he lives. The huge chateau near his home had recently been bought and he invited his new neighbours for aperitif where he learnt that the rental of the 6 hectares of vines that came with the chateau was coming to an and and they were looking for a new steward. They offered it to Francois that night.
As soon as he took over the six hectares he started converting to organics, this was 2021. In 2022 he sold all of the grapes, just making a few experimental vinifications for himself. 2023 ius his first proper vintage. For 4.5 hectares, the vines are plowed by horse. In addition to organic treatment, they use skimmed milk to fight against powdery mildew instead of sulfur in the vines.
The soil is mainly clay, with very little limestone, some plots have a little sand. They use plant cover, to increase the microbiology of the soils. For example fava is planted to help with nitrogen levels. The project is well planned and already very impressive, the sopils already looking incredibly healthy from the hard work of the horses and the humans.
Blessed with some beautiful soils planted with Aligote, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Gamay & a tiny plot of Pinot Blanc there is a lot of beautiful wine being created here and bright future ahead. The vinification, aging and bottling of the 2023 wines are completely without inputs.
BOURGOGNE ALIGOTE 2023 £25.50
100% Aligote from vines on average 60 years old. Francois gave the grapes a slow whole bunch press giving structure and length to the wine, ageing in 2 large oak tuns. It's already showing beautifully, benefiting from air, with texture, peachy fruit and a lovely line of acidity.
LA BOTTIERE ROSE 2023 £19
The Coteaux Bourguignon Rosé comes from 80% old Gamay vines, and 20% Pinot Noir on clay-sandy soils. The Gamays were pressed and vinified in vats, the hand-stemmed Pinots were macerated in the Gamay throughout the fermentation period. The wine was bottled at the end of April 2023. Pouring a beautiful pale pink, this is brimming with pretty fruit, with a distinct minerality and lovely length.
HAUTES COTE DE BEAUNE 2023 £26.50
The Hautes Côtes Pinot come from plots aged 35 to 45 years, planted in predominantly clay soils, exposed to the South. 2023 gave a generous yield of just over 45HL/ha for these plots. 70% whole bunch maceration and aging in barrels (5% new barrels). Bottled last June. Lovely, expressive fruit, this is fine, elegant and long, enjoyable now, but will be a wonder with a little bottle age.
AUXEY-DURESSES, BURGUNDY
NINA & LAURENCE, LES FLANEURS
Nina from Switzerland, Laurence from North Wales, have spent a lot of time working in Burgundy, we met them when they were working with Domaine Dandelion. While still working for other domaines they have started a brilliant negociant project, using the same facility that Dandelion, Vin Noe and plenty of others once used. The wines are vibrant and elegant and made in predictable tiny quantities.
BOURGOGNE ALIGOTE 2023 £17.50
100% Aligote sourced from Igé in Macon. Aged in stainless steel for freshness, handled beautifully this is a lovely example of when the this varietal is handled delicately, the bright peachy fruit balancing the grape's natural acidity.
PLUTOT BLANC ROSE 2023 £20
30% Pinot Noir from Mancey
35% Marsanne from Belleville-En-Beaujolais
35% Roussanne from Belleville-En-Beaujolais
The whites were pressed directly and vinified in stainless steel with no added sulfites. The pinot noir was macerated for 3 days before being pressed and vinified in stainless steel with no added sulfites. The two were then married together and put into 228 barrels for aging. No sulfites added at bottling.
This unlikely blend came about to balance the freshness of the Pinot Noir he'd given a short maceration on with the rounder Marsanne, Roussane blend. It works beautifully, remind us of some of the best old-school provence rose's alive with fruit!
BOURGOGNE ROUGE 2023 £29.50
Grapes Pinot Noir from Aluze (Very close to Rully)Carbonic maceration of 14 days, barrelled down dry into 228l barrels.
Really elegant and beautiful Pinot, in a light, style but with wonderful length and even if it's infancy, tasting very exciting.
DOMAINE DELHOMME & CO, TREIGNY, BURGUNDY
BAPTISTE DELHOMME & DAVID ARNAIZ
In the outer reaches of Burgundy, the Yonne, Baptiste Delhomme & David Arnaiz are crafting delicious, exotic wines from a myriad of varietals planted on the vineyards they farm in the area. They have of course the signature Chardonnay, Pinot Noir & Aligote, but are also blessed with Savagnin, Sacy (indigenous to this region and called Tresallier in the Auvergne) plus a little Melon De Bourgogne, Pinot Gris & Viognier! Working with a 100 year old wooden press that they restored, they tend to traditional methods, working slowly and painstakingly to make pure-fruited wines of real vibrancy, that represent exceptional value for the quality on show.
PIFONOURS 2022 £17.50
This is a delicious oxidative white, produced from a blend of 70% Aligote & 30% Sacy, a grape native to this area and also the Auvergne where it is known as Tresallier. It has a lovely freshness and acidity from these two varietals, balanced with a rich, salty, oxidative note. Perfect with a slice of Comte!
PUNK'S PINOT DEAD 2021 £17.50
Pinot Noir destemmed and given a short maceration on the skins, then aged in barrel, they age the press juice (the juice that comes after pressing the grapes and the free-run juice (the juice that naturally comes out of the grapes) separately. This is the press juice and thus has a touch more silky tannins and a pleasant spikiness that keeps the lovely black fruit in check.
ROUGE DE LA 2021 £17.50
Pinot Noir destemmed and given a short maceration on the skins, then aged in barrel, they age the press juice (the juice that comes after pressing the grapes and the free-run juice (the juice that naturally comes out of the grapes) separately. This is the free run juice, a little lighter and finer, with plenty of pretty dark red fruit.
ROUGE DE LA 2022 £17.50
Pinot Noir destemmed and given a short maceration on the skins, then aged in barrel, they age the press juice (the juice that comes after pressing the grapes and the free-run juice (the juice that naturally comes out of the grapes) separately. This is the free run juice. Lighter and fresher, but still with lovely depth of fruit. 2022 was a stellar vintage.