WINE MINUS Ø: The New Burgundy

FYB pigeage at Chanterêves - photo from www.beckywasserman.com

It’s July and the sun is out, so we’ll get right the point this month. There are a number of producers around the world working naturally to make classically balanced, nuanced, clean, elegant wine. Among them, Tomoko Kuriyama and Guillaume Bott of Chanterêves whose wines are highly sought after primarily because they are purely, unquestionably delicious - as well as quite limited. Some might refer to them as part of “the new Burgundy” - a group of producers who work differently within the outlines of the region’s well-established history and well-defined terroir. This often means a higher percent of whole cluster for reds (usually 100% at Chanterêves), gentle extraction, minimal oak, and a great deal of effort to create quality in the vineyard. And to what effect? New arrivals of wines from Deiss are expected soon, with Chanterêves later this year.

Outside of Burgundy, others like Nate Ready of Hiyu and Jean-Michel + Mathieu Deiss are also making mind-blowing wines using natural practices. For the Water Tower, a couple of new arrivals from these two dreamy farms in Alsace and the Columbia Gorge.

MIDNIGHT CORRESPONDENCE JULY 2021

**Chantereves Bourgogne Haute Cote de Beaune Rouge 'Paris L'Hopital' 2019**
Grown in dark, sandy granite just west of Maranges, this 100% whole-cluster Pinot Noir is spicy and immaculate. Fermentation was spontaneous and minimally extractive - aka Tomoko pigeage. It over-vintaged in neutral oak, and was bottled unfiltered and unfined - all to the effect of feeling like a seamless, delicious wave across the palate with highlights of blood orange , tangerine, and cinnamon. From a low-yeild, high-quality vintage.

**Chantereves Maranges Blanc Vignes Blanches 2019**
Deep limestone and gravel soils
Long whole cluster press
12 month élevage
Minimal fining & S02
No filtration
Simple process
To create complexity

SKINNY DIPPING IN THE WATER TOWER JULY 2021

Smockshop Band (Hiyu) Columbia Gorge Pinot Noir 2018
From Hiyu/Smockshop Band: ”This vintage of the Columbia Gorge Pinot Noir is a blend of parcels from Atavus and Elder and captures many of the qualities of the single vineyard wines we released from those sites in the fall. 2018 is one of those vintages where the volume is turned up on every channel; the wines are extremely rich, aromatic and powerfully structured. This wine is no exception The fruit from Atavus brings a lusher and more gentle texture, it pushes the blend slightly more toward red fruits and brings the same very exotic aromas of “quatre épices”. The fruit from Elder is darker (think black raspberries) and contributes density, tannins and a meatier aromatic profile.
The fermenters from Elder spent 14 days on the skins, those from Atavus 30, all of it whole cluster without destemming before being pressed with a basket press directly to barrel. It was aged for just over two years in small casks before being bottled by hand.”