Writing and winemaker interviews

Based in Mérignat in among the mountains of Bugey, Louis Terral is making remarkably pure and elegant wines the still somewhat under the radar region of Bugey.  Louis started his own project in 2016 after spending time working in Beaujolais and Burgundy with the likes of Michel Guignier, Julie Balagny, Valette & Tripoz. He made the decision to start making wine in Bugey and specifically around the village of Merignat, partly from circumstance - Louis' partner is from here and they were restoring the house of her grandparents. And partly from the raw potential of the region, with old vines, at altitude and parcels...

We are delighted to start working with Nicolas Pavie who works just 1.8 hectares by hand in Theize, southern Beaujolais. Nicolas is thoughtful, contemplative character and as is often the case the wines seem to reflect this. These are elegant, balanced and pure Gamay's with quite astonishing length and power, wines that open up beautifully over a few hours and even into the next day. I thought the best way to introduce him aside from opening one of his wines, was through a little interview we did through email. You can find Nicolas' wines here. Where are you from Nicolas, and how...

Situated at the foot of Mount Brouilly, Victor Blondin, has five hectares on three main terroirs with some vines almost 100 years old. Gamay planted in goblet and a small, prized  parcel of Chardonnay. Extremely fastidious and hard-working in the vineyard, he uses natural grassing, all the parcels benefit from a varied fauna and flora that guarantee a biological balance of the soil. Such an environment, rich in microorganisms, offers a vigorous natural defense of the vines. Victor started in 2013 after being introduced to winemaking by his cousin, who is part of a long line of wine-growers, he has...

Cedric is one of the first winemakers we started working with, visiting him on our very first trip to the Loire. I remember being greeted by his friendly dog and tasting his wines in his kitchen on a bleary eyed morning. Cedric's quiet manner and engaging wines, alive with fruit were very easy to get on with - whether you were into natural wine or had never heard of the term. This was important to us early on as we were importing mainly to sell the wines at Wright's in Llanarthne South Wales. We found his wines to be very...