Wines

Long time best friends Jean-Baptiste Bonnigal and Stéphane Bodet first cut their teeth in the industry in Saint-Émilion. After getting their diplomas, Stéphane stayed in Saint-Émilion, while Jean-Baptiste headed to New Zealand and Australia. 

JB eventually returned to his native Loire and spent several years working with François Chidaine in Montlouis-sur-Loire. He remains closely tied to the Chidaine family as he is married to François' daughter. In 2016, he took over his family estate in Amboise and invited Stéphane to join him in the project.

From the get-go, the two friends were aligned in their vision in making wines with purity and precision as well as their commitment to farming organically and biodynamically. Their farming practices including hoeing every two weeks to aerate the soil and encourage microbial life, treating the vines only as required, thinning leaves, and harvesting manually. Fermentations are always with native yeasts and with their sparkling wines, tirage is done at the domaine.

20-50 year old vines. Clay with flint, clay on limestone soils.
Vinification & Aging: Native yeast fermentation in stainless steel, aged on the fine lees for 6 months. No malolactic fermentation.

92 Points! Aromas of cherries, dried herbs, strawberry bush, wet stones and subtle spices with some dusty mineral notes. Silky and textured on the medium-bodied palate, it’s deliciously fruity and smooth, with a lingering finish. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

91 Points! The organic Brancaia 2023 Chianti Classico shows lovely primary intensity with dark cherry and blackcurrant. Barbara Widmer and her team strive for freshness and an easy-drinking experience with this charming wine. Maintaining fruit freshness and elegance is a main goal of this estate, but it also strives to push beyond the classic parameters of Chianti Classico in terms of complexity and depth. I love the brightness of the primary fruit in this wine. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

Not too often you get a sub-$20 Chardonnay from some of the oldest Chardonnay vines in America!

Wheeler Vineyard’s Chardonnay was planted in 1977 on elevated gravelly alluvial terrace. It is located in Tres Pinos.  Kevin Olson Vineyard is one of the coldest vineyards in California. This is where we get the nice acid backbone in the wine. It is located right off Highway 101 in Prunedale, and grows in sandy soils. It was planted in 1999. Wheeler Vineyard and Kevin Olson Vineyard are organically farmed.

93 Points! Cool and elegant, yet juicy and wonderfully fresh, this medium-bodied gruner vetliner has the garden herb and celery aromas of the grape. As lightly as this skips over the palate, and as crisp as it is in the finish, there’s very good substance here. It should stay fresh for quite a few years. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold. Screw cap. - JamesSuckling.com

For our money the best 'Pet-Nat' on the planet. 100% Chenin...

98 Points! Incredibly perfumed with violets and white flowers, followed by raspberry, cherry and strawberry flavors. Sliced lemon rind notes with mineral and fine wet sand undertones. Medium-bodied with fine tannins that run the length of the wine and give a beautiful, rather endless finish. Planted in 1945. Only 2 hectares. Best Lunita ever. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

97 Points! Dense licorice and forest berry aromas mask the deep tannin structure of this Chateauneuf-du-Pape masterpiece. Full-bodied but with a lightness of touch. Then the power and stony intensity pour over you in a giant wave. The freshness is extraordinary for this hot and dry vintage. Serious tannins in the very long, compact and refined finish. From organically grown grapes. - JamesSuckling.com

96 Points! The estate lost some Grenache due to shatter, so the 2023 Châteauneuf Du Pape is based on 40% Mourvèdre, 30% Grenache, 10% Counoise, 10% Syrah, and the rest a mix of permitted varieties. It was all destemmed except for the Syrah and brought up in foudre. The higher Mourvèdre component gives it a more serious, focused style than most in the vintage, and it has darker blackberry fruits intermixed with roasted herbs, spring flowers, violets, and some meaty nuances on the nose. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, with a deep, pure, layered mouthfeel, it has ripe, velvety, yet building tannins and a great finish. Another beautiful vintage for this cuvée, it has the approachable style of the vintage yet brings more than enough density and concentration to evolve for 30 years. - Jeb Dunnuck

93 Points! The 2023 Ventoux Quintessence Blanc was made from 80% Roussanne and 20% Clairette, with 60% brought up in 10% new demi-muids and the rest in tank and concrete. Ripe pears, white flowers, spice, and subtle toasted notes all define the aromatics, and it's medium to full-bodied, with a beautiful texture and the fresh, pure, precise style of the vintage. - Jeb Dunnuck

Located on the slope of the Roche de Solutré (one of two ancient reefs that dramatically mark the landscape of Vergisson), ‘En Buland’ faces northeast. Soils mix limestone and clay. Vines planted in 1934. Hand-harvested. Pressed full cluster; juice placed in
temperature-controlled tanks overnight to settle; transferred via gravity to French oak barrels to ferment on indigenous yeasts. Aged in barrel (20% new oak) for 12 months; after racking, the wine ages an additional three months in tank. Bottled unfined and unfiltered.

A long time Kermit Lynch winery that has alwasy brght the goods. 100% Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc from clay and Kimmeridgian limestone soils.

93 Points! The 2023 Saint-Romain Sous la Velle offers aromas of grapefruit, pear and white peach framed by a deft touch of smoky reduction. Medium- to full-bodied, ample and textural, with plenty of chalky extract, it’s laden with racy acids and concludes with a long, saline, lemon-tinged finish. As ever, it derives from the estate’s largest plot—two hectares of 60-year-old vines rooted in shallow soil. - Kristaps Karklins, robertparker.com

96 Points! One of the great dry white wines of the Loire. This dry chenin blanc is rich and concentrated, but also graceful and delicate. Full-bodied but so elegant and precise, with a wet stone minerality that builds in a spectacular manner in the very long, refined finish. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

95 Points! The 2023 Vouvray Sec Le Mont is precise, upright and flinty. It's less immediately charming than the styles we've seen in recent warmer vintages, but it was only tasted three weeks after bottling—this is one to revisit. There's just the right amount of juicy, peachy flesh within this light-bodied yet concentrated wine. It has the potential to charm but does so without showing off. Flinty and tightly sewn together, it has curves in the right places, but you're just going to have to wait for it to take shape. - Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous Media

Dominique Gruhier is oneof the greatest red winemakers in Epineuil, an area 10 miles north of Chablis that has traditionally been suited exclusively to Chardonnay! But climate change has provided Gruhier a 'helping hand' and now his reds from old vines on these steep kimmeridigian soil slopes produce some of the most compelling Pinot Noir north of the Cote d'Or. Amazing value here...

The vines for Cuvée Juliette were planted in 1978 on the Côte de Grisey, on a steep southeast-facing slope (45% grade), shallow clay-limestone Kimmeridgian soil.

100% whole cluster, ambient yeast fermentation with pump-overs, aged for 12 months in barrels (30% new), SO2 added a few months before bottling, approx. 25-30 ppm total at bottling.

97 Points! Aromas of blueberries, ash and stones with hints of blackberries, orange peel and chocolate. It’s medium-bodied with medium-round tannins that are polished and velvety but always in check. Cedar and baking spices like nutmeg on the palate. Lovely soft and silky texture with a long finish. Enchanting and delicious. 92% cabernet sauvginon, 4% cabernet franc and 4% petit verdot. From organically grown grapes. Drink now or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

80% Bical, 20% Arinto. Bical is harvested in the beginning of September, the Arinto on the other hand, matures later and is harvested 2-3 weeks later. Vinification happens separately. The wine matures on the lees without batonnage. The wines stabilize naturally during the cold winter. The final blend is made in early springtime when the wine is stable.

93 Points! A stunning example of Chenin’s range and appeal. Green fig and crunchy melon are open and inviting, layered with a savory jolt of salty mineral, chive and sage notes. Cool minerality keeps pace with the fruit through the firm finish, supported by fine, piercing acidity. Silky, long and pure. Drink now through 2033. - Wine Spectator

From the importer:

Produced from 35+ year old vines, this wine is normally vinified dry.

From a single vineyard parcel on one of the highest points in the appellation. The soils here are comprised of silex (flint) and a small amount of clay over limestone bedrock. Always vinified dry, this is one of the purest expressions of Montlouis that one can find. Plenty of minerals, pear and some quince in the nose, the acidity is crisp and intense giving way to a full wine that opens up over the palate leaving more quince and river rock sensations.

‘Champs Perdrix’ touches premier cru vineyards to the north, and grand crus La Tâche and Romanée-Conti to the east. Soils echo the rockiness of La Tâche, with more sand. AGE OF VINES: 30-50 years WINEMAKING: Hand-harvested. Destemmed. Fermented on indigenous yeasts in tank. Aged in clay amphora and clay eggs, and older French oak barrels. Unfined and unfiltered.