Translation missing: en.Domaine Jean-Marie Berrux Tasting Sat 3pm-6pm + La Violetta + Alkina: Domaine Jean-Marie Berrux Tasting Sat 3pm-6pm + La Violetta + Alkina
Domaine Jean-Marie Berrux Tasting
13th July 3-6PM
Join us this Saturday for a tasting of some specially selected wine from one of Burgundy's most respected minimal-intervention winemakers. Jean-Marie grew up in the Savoie with a father who was an organic farmer which proved to be a strong influence on the what Jean-Marie is currently doing out of his estate in Meursault. Jean-Marie left his job in advertising in Paris to study oenology at a university in Beaune and the rest is history. These are the wines that we'll be pouring on Saturday:
Le Petit Tetu (Chardonnay) Bourgogne 21'
JM Berrux B & B (Gringet) Savoie 21'
Nondegu (Pinot Noir) Bourgogne 21'
La Violetta
La Violetta are a beautiful little winery based in Denmark in WA's Great Southern region. Winemaker Andrew Hoadley worked around the world before settling in Australia's west coast in places such as: Piemonte, Abruzzo and Washington State. This background provided Andrew with the knowledge and experience needed to produce some interesting wines in one of Australia's most interesting regions. It also helped with the name of the estate - the name ‘La Violetta’ derives from an old Piedmontese song celebrating intoxication. I've selected a few wines to highlight below. The 2 Pet-Nats have just hit our shelves so I thought this would be the best time to get the word about them out there and the Riesling is a store favourite that we always try to stock each vintage. - Aaron C.Alkina
Alkina are one of the greatest and most interesting producers from Barossa Valley that, despite the increase in popularity in that last couple of years, not enough people have heard of. ‘Alkina’ is an Indigenous Australian girl’s name meaning ‘Moon’ or ‘Moonlight’ which embodies their respect for the land and all the facets of nature that they work with to create these wines. Alkina have carved out a name for themselves in the Western Barossa Ranges with the help of ancient stones and soils, biodynamic viticulture, small scale winemaking and unique micro-terroir wines.
"We want to make wine that is an expression of this place; pure, authentic, terroir wines from healthy vines in healthy soils."
Alkina want their wines to be completely reflective of their place and to be as an authentic expression as possible which they believe can only be achieved with a complex set of interconnected ecosystems without the use of any synthetic chemicals. Extensive work has been done to facilitate this on the estate with invasive trees and bushes being pulled to allow the native flora and fauna to flourish. A survey was conducted in 2017 which found that there were 12'500 different insect species on the farm and they have made plantings as a result to foster these native species and reduce the pest population.
Alkina conducted their "Polygon Project" in 2017 after being introduced to Pedro Parra who has a PhD in Terroir Viticole from Paris and has studied the connection between soil/rock type and wine characteristics extensively. They tested the vineyard using Electro Conductivity Mapping technology to determine the top soil and bedrock and the changes in these across the vineyard. They were surprised by the extent to which there were soil and rocks across small areas, also known as 'patch dynamics' which has ultimately led them to a deeper understanding of their own terroir and the creation of the 'Polygon' Grenache wines that capture and express these minute differences.
Everything Alkina do in the winery is designed to protect the integrity of the fruit and the source block or polygon. The imprint of the winemaker is removed as much as possible to fight what they consider the 6 enemies of making terroir-driven wine: over-ripening, over-extraction, invasive oak, synthetic chemicals, the winemaker’s ego and market-led winemaking. All fermentation occurs with indigenous yeasts and starts and finishes naturally and they work hard in the vineyard to avoid acid adjustments to the reds, there are never any for the whites. They do use high levels of whole bunches in their ferments which they believe helps to express character and interest in the wine.
We have some special wines from this incredible estate that we want to share with you. From their 'Kin by Alkina' Range we have a bottle of the Semillon left as well as the 'Wild Earth White Blend' which is a unique blend of Semillon, Riesling and Ugni Blanc fermented on their skins in Georgian Qvevri with a second ferment in stainless steel. We have what is arguably the best GSM in the country - the '22 'Old Quarter' GSM which comes from the same vineyard as all of the Polygon Grenache. Then we have some of the '22 'Polygon 1 Shiraz', 'Polygon 3 (and some '20s) and 'Polygon 5'. The Polygon 1 Shiraz comes form 6 rows of 70 year old vines. The Polygon 3 Grenache comes from a 0.274 hectare parcel which is unique in its limestone content with shallow red brown earth over deep chalky sedimentary limestone which contains fractured schist and the limited presence of iron; whereas the Polygon 5 Grenache comes from a 0.37 hectare parcel that is uniquely significant because of its heavily fractured schist composition - there are deeper soils sitting above a thick band of micaceous schist that contains veins of iron-rich clay within the fractures. These are some seriously unique and special wines made in tiny quantities that ought to draw the attention of anyone interested in biodynamic and/or terroir-driven winemaking - Aaron C.