Translation missing: en.Danjou-Banessy + Droin + Nicole Lamarche: Danjou-Banessy + Droin + Nicole Lamarche
Danjou-Banessy
Danjou-Banessy are a family-run Domaine based in the painfully underrated region of Roussillon, around the Pyrenees of southern France. Benoit and Sebastien’s grandfather purchased these vineyards in the 80s, initially focusing on a style of fortified wine known as Rancio. Benoit worked alongside his grandfather until their final vintage together in 2000. Benoit was the first to start producing still wines for the Domaine using old vine plantings of indigenous grape varieties and was joined by his brother Sebastien 5 years later who left his post as an English teacher to help out at home.
Located at Espira, a few kilometres away from Rivesaltes, Domaine Danjou-Banessy typically produced fortified and rancio wines in the Roussillon region. The brothers farm everything biodynamically and use a single-vineyard approach to winemaking across the total of 17 hectares that they farm with an average vine age of 60 years. The aversion to the use of chemicals in the vineyard stems from their grandfather catching a blood disease after using some chemical treatments that were in vogue after WWII. Since then, they have vowed to never have any products in the wines, which also happens to elevate the expression of terroir as well. The climate of Roussillon is generally dry and warm, a climate that makes it easier to farm biodynamically; however, the brothers have spoken about the weather becoming more extreme and they’re taking measures such as planting trees to provide shade and humidity in the future.
“Today, the most complex thing is to be simple. I call it “simplexity” it’s so complicated to be simple.”
90% of the work that these brothers do is in the vineyard. Even when the vine is sleeping from October to March, they grow seeds such as broad beans, peas, wheat, rye, corn, mustard and radishes in the middle of each row of vines to help enrich the soil. Mustard seeds and radishes make deep holes in the soil, while others grow horizontally - reaching out in all directions - and so they help to aerate the soil underground, each one of the plants bringing something positive to the mix. The brothers aim to do as little as possible in the winery and to vinify everything separately so as to allow the various soil types found in Roussillon’s L’Agly Valley to express themselves and to never blend between soil types. “One vine belonging to one vine” as they say.
We’ve just secured a range of great wines from their recent release. The ‘23 ‘Supernova’ is an orange wine that Sebastien says pairs well with raw fish and sushi. The ‘22 ‘Roboul Rouge’ is a fresh Grenache-based blend and the ‘22 Truffiere Rouge’ is a 100% whole-bunch blend of old vine Grenache and Carignan from the same vineyard. The ‘22 ‘Clos des Ecounils’ is a unique wine which is an intriguing blend of all 3 Grenache: Grenache Blanc, Grenache Gris and Grenache Noir with incredible complexity. The ‘19 ‘Les Mirandes Syrah’ is an excellent chance to taste some great Syrah with 5 years of age. The ‘22 ‘Les Myrs Carignan’ is a beautifully savoury and light expression of Carignan to what most people are probably accustomed to. The ‘22 ‘Truffiere Blanc’ is one of their flagship wines coming from 80 year vines of the rare Carignan Blanc - an extremely unique expression of an indigenous grape. Finally, we have the ‘21 ‘Estaca Grenache’ from 120 year-old vines on black slate. These are some seriously exceptional, fresh and unique wines that have created a cult following around the world. I’m just waiting to see which wines you buy so I can pick up something from what’s left!Droin
Jean-Paul and Benoit Droin represent the 13th generation of family winemakers, with a history that spans over 4 centuries in Chablis. Jean-Paul started to work for the business in 1965 at the age of 14 while Benoit joined the estate in 1999 after completing his studies at the Wine College in Beaune and National Oenology Diploma in Dijon. Together they have worked with re-building the cellar and replanting of vineyards. Today, they are one of a total of 4 producers in Chablis to be awarded with 3 stars by La Revue du Vins de France, an accolade shared by Chablis legends Vincent Dauvissat and Raveneau.
“The terroir of Chablis brings to its wines a multitude of mineral nuances”
Droin farm vineyards across all levels of the Chablis hierarchy: from Petit Chablis through to Grand Cru and therefore have a great understanding of the terroir and how to handle the different grapes from different parcels. They attach importance to transcribing and enhancing these nuances to demonstrate the richness and diversity of the 16 climats that they work with. They accompany their wines without overpowering them. All of their wines are marked by generous body and mineral precision - their most important task is to find a balance between power and finesse and to produce the best expressions of their terroirs.
We’ve just received our allocation of the 2022 vintage of Droin Chablis. We have a dozen of the ‘22 ‘Chablis’ which is a fantastic wine and an excellent introduction to this Domaine’s wines. We also have the ‘22 ‘Vaillons 1er’ which comes from vines with an average age of 45 years on Kimmeridgian limestone with southeast/east exposure and ferments with indigenous yeasts in both stainless steel and barrel. The ‘22 ‘Cote de Lechet 1er’ comes from vines with an average age of 35 from Kimmeridgian marls covered in clay and earth with southeast/east exposure and is fermented in stainless steel. This one looks the most like classic Chablis out of the 2 Premier Crus. Finally, we still have a single bottle of the 2020 ‘Hommage a Louis Grand Cru’ left. This is an interesting one as their parcel is actually partly in the ‘Les Clos’ and partly in the ‘Valmur’ grand Cru sites, and as such, is unable to be labelled as ‘Les Clos’ as it has been since 1938. This dispute with French bureaucracy may take some time to settle, but in the meantime enjoy this unique expression of 2 of Chablis’ best Grand Cru sites! Don’t miss this producer if you love Chablis, especially coming into these warmer months in which you can enjoy these with some freshly shucked oysters and fresh fish.Nicole Lamarche
Nicole Lamarche has reinvigorated the otherwise spurious and inconsistent quality of her father's Domaine François Lamarche, after Nicole took over in 2006 and eventually renamed the Domaine to reflect her efforts in 2018. Certain commentators such as Jasper Morris and Jancis Robinson were some of the first to notice this change in both quality and style and now the Domaine actually measures up to its holdings, which happen to be some of the very best in Burgundy being the sole owner of the monopole ‘La Grande Rue’ vineyard that is sandwiched by Romanée-Conti and La Romanée to the north, and La Tâche to the South, as well as owning parcels in other prestigious Grand Cru sites.
Some of the changes that Nicole has made that led to the overhaul of the Domaine include strict organic farming since 2007 with some biodynamic influence as well with La Grande Rue being plowed by horse. Yields have been drastically lowered and much more care is taken in the vineyard so as not to dilute the terroir expression of some of the best vineyards in the world. The wine making is all about showcasing delicacy and finesse, which Nicole believes is the ultimate expression of Vosne-Romanée’s terroir. To achieve this, Nicole gently handles the grapes and is careful not to overextract. In addition, the total amount of new oak being used is being scaled down drastically - the Premier Crus see about 20%-30% new oak and the Grand Crus see about 30%-40% new oak on average compared to 100% that many of her neighbours would be using. Nicole has also been experimenting with larger format Stockinger oak as well as amphora since 2020. The work and risks that Nicole has taken to re-establish the Domaine and make it her own have paid off with many top critics considering this to be on of Burgundy’s greats.
For those curious to try Nicole’s wines but may not have the pretty penny that the top GCs sell for, we have the ‘21 ‘Bourgogne Rouge’ and ‘21 ‘Hautes Côtes de Nuits’ which can showcase Nicole’s style and touch. We have 1 Premier Cru offering: the ‘21 ‘Vosne-Romanée Les Chaumes’ for a good middle ground between the regional and Grand Crus. We have 4 different Grand Cru offerings, all from the 2021 vintage: ‘Clos de Vougeot’, ‘Echezeaux’, ‘Grand Echezeaux’ and the flagship monopole ‘La Grande Rue’. These are names that I’m sure need no introduction as they are some of the most coveted vineyards in the world. We only have small quantities of these left so don’t hesitate to pick some up!