Stéphane Cyran

Stéphane Cyran is working from an interesting vantage point. Perched in the Lorraine, a forgotten region of France with grape growing infrastructure that’s nestled in between the Jura and Alsace, Cyran has access to his own proprietary fruit of Pinot Noir and Gamay, as well as buying power as a négociant from the nearby regions, which makes his wines made from purchased fruit feel even less ‘négoce’ by proximity, if that makes any sense. While I tend to feel that Cyran, working outside of almost all French natural wine context, is still reaching for a unique voice, there are times where his wines absolutely hit. Both Chasser le Brouillard, from 2020, and En Route Mauvaise Troupe, from the 2021 vintage are such examples.



En Route Mauvaise Troupe 2021
Pinot Blanc / Chasselas / Sylvaner / Savagnin Rose
$40

An insanely sleek short maceration of purchased fruit from Alsace, that drinks more like a subtly textured directly pressed white, topped with a dash of Savagnin Rose that is one of the sexiest things I’ve drank in recent memory





Chasser le Brouillard 2020
Chardonnay / Pinot Gris
$36

A maceration of both Alsatian Pinot Gris and Chardonnay, with a beautiful harmony of fatness, fruit, depth, and acid with a yeasty, doughy quality to the Chardonnay that reminds me of Philippe Jambon’s legendary white wines—an absolute bomb that recently took even some of the most jaded LA wine professionals that I know by surprise.