After all of these years spent as both amateurs and professionals, we continue to be inspired by natural wine; how it makes us feel (high), what it can do to our own ways of seeing the world, and perhaps most importantly how it brings people together.
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Francois Saint-Lô
Loire, France
While punk in persona, Francois Saint-Lô’s wines feel surprisingly more and more classical and refined with eeach successive release. Les Pouches 2021 is a perfectly saline expression of Chenin Blanc, and one that fits somewhere in between the heavier autolytic expressions of the Leroy camp and the psychedelia of the Griottes/Desplats school—this is light and mineral Chenin with a touch of reduction perfect for both apéro and dinner. Things get simultaneously weirder and gourmand with the 2019 maceration. I’ve always found a maceration of Chenin to be a bit of an odd choice, but here I am proved wrong; Les Pouches M’s nose is striking and seductive, reminiscent of older Italian macerations, and it leads to a deeper and more complex palate than the 2021 direct press version—one for the table, no doubt. Lastly, the 23 Hey Gamin ! is the first release of Gamay to see some time in barrel, and frankly it’s all the better for it. A nose with a kiss of reduction that reminds me of certain Auvergne reds, its palate is all forest and strawberries, a slight bitterness that hints at Pinot Noir, and a thirst quenching finish. Drink one now, save one for later.
Les Pouches Maceration 2019
Chenin Blanc
$60
Les Pouches 2021
Chenin Blanc
$55
Les Pouches 2021 MAG
Chenin Blanc
$105
Hey Gamin!! 2023
Gamay
$50
Hey Gamin!! 2023 MAG
Gamay
$95