Clos Bateau JouJou 2023

Gamay grapes from 50 year old vines on terroir of decomposed granite, quartz and clay. Energetic wine with a great acidity. This plot is right next to Sylvie and Thierry's house where they let their sheep and pigs graze and work during the wintertime. Lots of manual labour from themselves during the rest of the year. Semi carbonic maceration in concrete and stainless steel with a bit direct press gamay. After pressing this all goes into a big fiberglass dome where the wine has still room to dance and finish the fermentation. Then aged for more than 10 months before bottling in the same dome. _ About CLOS BATEAU Sylvie & Thierry started their adventure in 2019 when they moved from Amsterdam to Lantignié in Beaujolais. The name ‘Clos Bateau’ came about as their domaine is surrounded by a big Clos (stone wall) and because Thierry’s grandfather’s surname is Boot (Boot in Dutch, Boat in English or Bateau in French). Theirs is a small, nature-friendly domaine which 3.4Ha of productive vineyard and 1.6Ha of abandoned vineyard mainly occupied by old-vine Gamay and a small amount of young Chardonnay. With the mindset of working with nature and not against it, they planted over 100 fruit and nut trees to create a diverse ecosystem for the vines. Without any formal winemaking training, Sylvie and Thierry work in the vineyard with a homeopathic touch. They collect plants and herbs around the domaine to make plant based tea infusions that help the vines to become stronger and healthier. Working by the moon further influences their choices of when to bottle press, how long to macerate for and so on. Also part of the team are the sheep and kunekune pigs they keep (who help eat the herbs in the vineyard during wintertime and give the soil food in return). Their abiding respect for nature continues in the winery where they work with the least amount of intervention possible. Only indigenous yeasts are used (the wine is fermented spontaneously) with no filtration and no fining. All their cuvées are unique expressions of the terroir with a strong identity. Type: Red Volume: 750mls Origin: Lantignié, Beaujolais // France