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2023 Harvest Reports Are In!
2023 Harvest Reports
<p>The 2023 vintage was certainly a mixed bag throughout Europe, particulaly in Italy where climactic hardships wrecked havoc troughout many regions. Whether is was a good or a bad year for the producers we represent, these harvest reports prove, as always, just how tireless and daunting their work is.</p>
<p>We are extremely fortunate to be able to represent this hard work year-in, year-out. So as we start our new year, let's give a big cheers to those who get the wine in our glasses! </p>
<p><a href="https://louisdressner.com/harvest-reports">You can go read all 31 2023 harvest reports here. </a></p>
Article
How does The New Website Work?
This is very exciting stuff!
<p><u><strong>Desktop vs Mobile:</strong></u></p>
<p>We know it's 2020 and people use their phones a lot. So we've worked hard on ensuring the site functions well on mobile (especially compared to what it once was). Having said that, desktop is the recommended way of perusing the site.</p>
<p><u><strong>Glossary:</strong></u></p>
<p>At its core, this has always been a website written for wine professionals *attempting* to glean information on the wines we import (and hopefully see a picture of the vigneron's dog). Since the language can be so technical, we've added an <glossary term="glossary" title="1427">interactive glossary</glossary> to the text for those unfamiliar with the baffllingly complex world of wine terminology. Even if you're a seasoned pro, it will frankly teach you a thing or two. And if you'd rather read the content without the glossary, simply head to the main menu bar and turn it off. </p>
<p> <u><strong>Our Wines Section: </strong></u></p>
<p>In the new "Our Wines" section, we've offered a variety of filter categories for you to explore and discover all the cuvées we import. These filters can be combined together to narrow down results. If you hit a wall, simply erase one of the filters or clear all filters. </p>
<p><u><strong>Actual Information About the Wines:</strong></u></p>
<p>Speaking of the wines, the number one complaint we would get from customers was the lack of technical information on the wines themselves. It's not a coincidence that we spend the vast majority of our energy focusing on the people behind the wines and their dogs; it's what we dig about what we do.</p>
<p>Having said that, 95% of the wines we import now have EXTREMELY detailed technical information, dare I say the most technical anywhere on the internet. Please enjoy now while they are up to date, knowing that half of these will probably be totally wrong by next vintage. </p>
<p><u><strong>Search:</strong></u></p>
<p>If you know what producer or wine you are searching for, the search should quickly autofill what you need. Go ahead, give it a whirl.</p>
<p><strong><u>Hyperlinks:</u></strong></p>
<p>Everything on the website has a hyperlink now. This means you can easily share a specific producer page, article, wine or filter combination with anyone. </p>
<p><u><strong>Copy/Paste:</strong></u></p>
<p>If you need to copy/paste anything, the glossary needs to be turned off for the text to paste correctly. Also, if you are going to straight up use our writing verbatim, PLEASE credit us when doing so. Seems obvious but we see it happen all the time. </p>
<p><u><strong>A Shit-Ton of Written Content:</strong></u></p>
<p>The articles themselves can often be very long, and for this reason we developed a Propriety Pop Up System™ where you can easily scroll through various articles/wines and "pop out" to efficiently look at the rest of the content.</p>
<p>We've tried our best to pack as many dog pictures as possible in there, but the digital ink has been spilled: the cumulation of decades' worth of writings from Joe, Denyse, Kevin and Jules is here for you to read. A huge part of the work with this new website was to find better ways to condense and extract essential information you need without getting lost in all that BORING text. </p>
<p>We still think you should check it out. Don't worry, there are plenty of pictures. And you might even find the writing interesting. Or funny. Or both. </p>
Article
EXPLORE
A Visit with Thomas Puechavy
<p><em><strong>Words and photos by Jules Dressner. </strong></em></p>
<p>This winter, we were able to visit Thomas Puechavy for the first time. After greeting us at his home in Nazelles-Négron, we took the 17 minute car ride to the village of <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Vouvray" title="1121">Vouvray </glossary></span></span>to visit his vines. I sat up front with Thomas, who I'd only met minutes prior, along with his two friends Raf and Martin. It was a fun ride; Thomas is like me, Franco/American, but grew up his entire life in Paris. Raf is French but lives in London and Martin is German. Both were in France to help Thomas <glossary term="Pruning" title="834">prune</glossary> before spending the weekend at the various wine fairs around <glossary term="Saumur" title="919">Saumur</glossary> and <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Angers" title="104">Angers</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> </p>
<p>Everyone spoke English, and we discussed the VERY REAL connection between musicians/music lovers who are also really into wine. You see, Thomas' first life was largely spent making music and touring with the band Moriarty. It was during extensive bouts on the road that he caught the wine bug. Raf and Martin originally met him through music, and they too are now completely enamored with wine through Thomas.</p>
<p><em>"Both reward an obsessive nature."</em></p>
<p>After a beautiful drive, we'd arrived to the village of <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Vouvray" title="1121">Vouvray</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> From a small dirt path, we walked onto an open field that quickly gave way to a large plateau of vineyards. </p>
<p><img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//977/24/3b/243bfddfbd2feb0066a06035bbab18f8.jpg" /><img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//977/1f/f7/1ff7d1ee44fea92a7b40476c12cc0494.jpg" /><img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//977/f1/9d/f19d29bb11e00e95b9c86670aa2b5ed8.jpg" /></p>
<p>Thomas explained that this plateau is shared with Huet and Foreau. Some neighbors! The soils are <glossary term="Clay" title="301">clay</glossary> and <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Limestone" title="596">limestone</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> but this particular area is very light in <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Clay" title="301">clay</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> making for exceptional drainage and imparting tons of <glossary term="Minerality" title="662">minerality</glossary> to the wines. Puechavy's vines are spread amongst many <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Parcel" title="760">parcels</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> the youngest 25 and the oldest in their 80's. All in all, Thomas farms 3.5 <glossary term="Hectare" title="523">hectares</glossary> spread over multiple <glossary term="Plot" title="1133">plots</glossary> and two <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Lieu-Dit" title="594">lieu-dits</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> all within the same plateau. </p>
<p><img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//977/2d/27/2d27739fe37966ea08df58e8f3fff800.jpg" /><img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//977/09/59/09595cb681f924ef3bef9c020c8aa173.jpg" /></p>
<p>The vines had been worked <glossary term="Conventional Farming" title="331">conventionally</glossary> prior to Thomas' arrival in 2018 and are currently in <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Conversion" title="332">organic conversion</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> So far he's been very careful with the soil, working it only superficially and very lightly at that.</p>
<p><em>"I worry there are still some roots at the superficial level after years of intensive </em><glossary term="Conventional Farming" title="331"><em>conventional viticulture</em></glossary><em>."</em></p>
<p>Thomas is also looking into <glossary term="Cover Crop" title="1255">cover-crops</glossary> and various herbal sprays to bring vigor back to the soils. </p>
<p><em>"I'm pretty lucky. Huet and Foreau work </em><glossary term="Biodynamic" title="160"><em>biodynamically</em></glossary><em> and </em><glossary term="Organic" title="746"><em>organically</em></glossary><em> and are my only big neighbors. We're even in a counsel together to promote </em><glossary term="Biodiversity" title="1162"><em>biodiversity</em></glossary><em> in </em><glossary term="Vouvray" title="1121"><em>Vouvray</em></glossary><em>." </em></p>
<p>One major project at the moment is to replant an indigenous tulip that all but disappeared in the area with the rise of <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Conventional Farming" title="331">chemical agriculture</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Huet has always been able to maintain them on their land and is now giving them to other growers in the counsel to propagate in their own vineyards.</p>
<p><img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//977/f6/ec/f6ec86864bc33c29e6c0a01f7717c8d2.jpg" /></p>
<p><img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//977/db/7a/db7a2dc44114263dd7f39a0a3294d245.jpg" /></p>
<p><img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//977/23/bc/23bcabd49f5dba952c97c2879550c3a0.jpg" /></p>
<p>While walking through the vines, Thomas also explained how he originally had no intention to work in the <glossary term="Loire Valley" title="602">Loire</glossary> or even to start his own <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Estate" title="427">estate</glossary><span>.</span></span></span></p>
<p><em>"After finishing my studies, my plan was to go work for someone else, probably somewhere in the south like the </em><glossary term="Languedoc" title="579"><em>Languedoc</em></glossary><em>, and eventually find a little </em><glossary term="Plot" title="1133"><em>plot</em></glossary><em> to make some wine on the side. During an apprenticeship in the <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Loire Valley" title="602"><em>Loire</em></glossary><span>,</span></span></span> my boss at the time introduced me to a retiring </em><glossary term="Vigneron/Vignaiolo" title="1089"><em>vigneron</em></glossary><em> who had 10 </em><glossary term="Hectare" title="523"><em>hectares</em></glossary><em> in </em><glossary term="Vouvray" title="1121"><em>Vouvray</em></glossary><em>. His big stipulation was that he DID NOT want his land worked by someone already established in the area. He had some great <glossary term="Terroir" title="1026">terroirs</glossary> but wanted me to take on all 10 </em><glossary term="Hectare" title="523"><em>hectares</em></glossary><em>. That wasn't possible, but I did happen to know two other guys who wanted to start small </em><glossary term="Estate" title="427"><em>estates</em></glossary><em> of their own. We agreed to split the land, and here I am today."</em></p>
<p>From the vines, we headed back to Nazelles-Négron to taste some wines in Thomas' beautiful <glossary term="Tuffeau" title="1053">tuffeau</glossary> <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Cellar" title="254">cellar</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> </p>
<p><img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//977/b1/23/b123715932bebed8a0b13c5ee6f41f18.jpg" /></p>
<p>We began in the <glossary term="Barrel" title="142">barrel</glossary> room, tasting the soon to be <glossary term="Bottling" title="185">bottled</glossary> "Rayon Blanc" 2021 and "Les Doyennes" 2020.</p>
<p><img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//977/e3/80/e38078ac677273551dc2ebac113bce90.jpg" /><img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//977/55/69/556997b9a1830c3df89c95634b019315.jpg" /></p>
<p>Both wines are made in a very straightforward fashion: <glossary term="Direct Press" title="392">direct-pressed</glossary> then <glossary term="Racking/Soutirage" title="843">racked</glossary> to <glossary term="Barrel" title="142">barrel</glossary> to <glossary term="Fermentation" title="441">ferment</glossary> and <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Aging" title="74">age</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> "Rayon Blanc" comes from the <glossary term="Estate" title="427">estate</glossary>'s younger vines and is <glossary term="Aging" title="74">aged</glossary> 14 to 16 months before <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Bottling" title="185">bottling</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> "Les Doyennes" comes from the old vines (60 to 80 years old) and <glossary term="Aging" title="74">ages</glossary> 26 to 28 months before <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Bottling" title="185">bottling</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> </p>
<p>A third wine, a <glossary term="Pétillant Naturel" title="778">pet-nat</glossary> called "Les Turbulants", begins its <glossary term="Fermentation" title="441">fermentation</glossary> in <glossary term="Fiberglass" title="445">fiberglass</glossary> before finishing in bottle. </p>
<p><img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//977/d5/e1/d5e1385670ede41d44ba34ce1136b60e.jpg" /><img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//977/b7/c7/b7c7c9d858b9accbfb6ad6fec6497893.jpg" /></p>
<p>We ended the tasting with an <glossary term="Off-Dry" title="736">off-dry</glossary> 2022 from a tiny <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Vat/Tank" title="1140">vat</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Thomas wasn't sure what he was going to do with it during the visit, but has since decided to <glossary term="Bottling" title="185">bottle</glossary> it without <glossary term="Sulfites" title="993">sulfites</glossary> with a <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Crown Cap" title="359">crown cap</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> expecting a "perlant" style to develop in the bottle.</p>
<p>After all that hard work, it was lunch time and we finally got to eat at Hervé and Patricia Chardonneau's Le Berlot in <glossary term="Montlouis" title="684">Montlouis</glossary> for the first time! </p>
<p><img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//977/46/a4/46a4ecce12c76f48251490f9a27bef23.jpg" /></p>
<p><img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//977/de/d1/ded1c1727412022ab60a0c4ade88a66a.jpg" /></p>
Pedecastello Producer Profile
<p>Pedecastello, or “foot of the castle”, is a small <glossary term="Viticulture" title="1103">viticultural</glossary> project from Alex della Vecchia. Nestled in the mountains of Tambre, a <glossary term="Commune" title="322">commune</glossary> of Belluno, the <glossary term="Estate" title="427">estate</glossary> has been worked by Alex’s family for over a century. For generations they raised cattle, first for milk and then for meat.</p>
<p>When Alex’s grandfather passed away, he inherited the land with his uncle. They worked a total of three days together before deciding to go separate ways over a fundamental disagreement: Alex wanted to butcher and transform the meat to sell individual cuts and his uncle wanted to sell them whole. At the same time, Alex had been dreaming of making his own wine and began wondering if he could use his part of the property to plant vines.</p>
<p>Shaped by high <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Elevation" title="419">elevation</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> grassy, fertile soils and a cool climate, the region has historically been dedicated to cattle, notably for production of the famed <glossary term="DOP" title="402">DOP</glossary> Piave cheese. <glossary term="Viticulture" title="1103">Viticulture</glossary> remains extremely rare, with roughly 60 <glossary term="Hectare" title="523">hectares</glossary> planted at the time of this writing.</p>
<p><em>“Making wine in Belluno is 100% a result of climate change. 30 years ago, it would have been way too cold.”</em></p>
<p>Inexperienced but full of conviction, Alex decided to plant a <glossary term="Hectare" title="523">hectare</glossary> of <glossary term="Pinot Noir" title="805">Pinot Noir</glossary> in 2010. Around this time, he met the late Ernesto Cattel who, in the early years of shaping his Costadilà project, was looking to acquire some cattle. Alex seized the opportunity to collaborate with Ernesto and, hoping to learn how to make wine, began working full-time with Costadilà. As his time at Costadiłà blossomed into head of <glossary term="Viticulture" title="1103">viticulture</glossary> and eventually running the <glossary term="Cellar" title="254">cellar</glossary> after Ernesto’s passing, he kept cultivating his own <glossary term="Pinot Noir" title="805">Pinot Noir</glossary> and lending a helping hand with the cattle.</p>
<p>Alex currently grows two <glossary term="Hectare" title="523">hectares</glossary> of vines at Pedecastello: the aforementioned <glossary term="Hectare" title="523">hectare</glossary> of <glossary term="Pinot Noir" title="805">Pinot Noir</glossary> planted in 2010 and another split 50/50 between <glossary term="Bianchetta Trevigiana" title="1141">Bianchetta</glossary> and PIWI (a German, fungal resistant <glossary term="Hybrid" title="532">hybrid grape</glossary>) planted in 2017. The soils, composed of <glossary term="Sand" title="909">sand</glossary> and <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Clay" title="301">clay</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> are very fertile, with <glossary term="Mother Rock" title="690">mother rock</glossary> a full two meters below the <span class="zalup"><span> <glossary term="Topsoil" title="1032">top soil</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Alex does not add <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Cover Crop" title="1255">cover crops</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> but lets grass grow wild and encourages <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Biodiversity" title="1162">biodiversity</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> With an obvious assist from the cattle on hand, manure is used to <glossary term="Fertilizer" title="442">fertilize</glossary> the soils.</p>
<p>Alex has been experimenting with various methods of still and sparkling <glossary term="Vinification" title="1104">vinifications</glossary> but so far has chosen to focus primarily on <glossary term="Methode Ancestrale" title="1311"><em>ancestrale</em></glossary><em> </em>sparklers. While in the same <glossary term="colfondo" title="1382">Col Fondo</glossary> vein as Costadilà (in fact they are made in the same <glossary term="Cellar" title="254">cellar</glossary>), the <glossary term="Terroir" title="1026">terroirs</glossary> and use of <glossary term="Pinot Noir" title="805">Pinot Noir</glossary> distinguish “Pedecastello” as a rounder expression marked by red fruit. Alex <glossary term="Bottling" title="185">bottled</glossary> his first <glossary term="colfondo" title="1382">Col Fondo</glossary> <glossary term="Bianchetta Trevigiana" title="1141">Bianchetta</glossary>/PIWI <glossary term="Blend" title="168">blend</glossary> in 2021 and will continue to do so in future <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Vintage" title="1109">vintages</glossary><span>.</span></span></span></p>