SEXTANT (Saint-Aubin/Burgundy, France)
Bourgogne Blanc 2008
100% Chardonnay from a mix of fruit sources. All barrel fermented with wild yeasts. No temperature control. Long resting period, on lees, for oxidation and balance. No SO2.
Julien Altabar was lucky enough to gain a stage with natural-winemaking legend in Burgundy, Dominique Derain. He was luckier still, that he was asked to stick around. Dominique helped him to pick fruit from some great older vines of Pinot and Chardonnay, to craft what are now Sextant wines. Having a history in barrel making as well, he seemingly has the best of all skills ready to create fine wines of terrior and structure. Following his mentor, all the vines are allowed to exist without chemical additions. There is heavy focus on the vines growth in the spring, reducing shoots, to avoid heavy green-harvesting and fruit drop in the fall. Insects thrive among them and the soils are healthy with natural materials. All fruit is hand harvested in small crates and processed cool. His fermentations take place in barrique (some % new) with only the natural yeasts. They are left on the lees, which are frequently stirred, adding complexity and vitality. They are bottled without filtration (only settled and racked) and with minuscule amounts of sulphur. A set of wines without a real domaine to call home, Julien’Äôs ’Äòborrowed’Äô barrels are proving to be as interesting as they are unique. Like the cooper he was before, he can see the forest for his trees. Now they are barrels for his lees. Only time will reveal how his efforts repay the mentor but they seem to be aptly accomplished.
100% Chardonnay from a mix of fruit sources. All barrel fermented with wild yeasts. No temperature control. Long resting period, on lees, for oxidation and balance. No SO2.