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Jean Foillard + Equipo Navazos + Domaine de Crève Cœur + Saison Aperitifs Tasting Saturday 21st 3pm-6pm

by Annandale Cellars

Jean Foillard

Jean Foillard is one of Beaujolais' biggest legends, having learnt from Jules Chauvet as one of the original 'Gang of Four' alongside Marcel Lapierre, Jean-Paul Thévenet, and Guy Breton. Jean and Agnès Foillard took over his father’s domaine in 1980 in Morgon and was quick to revamp the image of Beaujolais which was ridden with high-volume, mechanised commercial winemaking at the time which was quickly picked up by Kermit Lynch who then gave him the recognition he deserved.

The approach to making wine that Chauvet imparted on Foillard includes old vines, never using synthetic herbicides or pesticides, harvesting late, rigorously sorting to remove all but the healthiest grapes, adding minimal doses of sulfur dioxide or none at all, and refusing both chaptalization and filtration. He also keeps whole clusters of grapes in vats for 2 - 3 weeks at a low temperature before fermentation, using only natural yeast, no pumping, no fining and ages the wines in barrels bought from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. The result are true Morgon wines with structure, spice and minerality as opposed to the banana and bubblegum monstrosities that too often come out of the region.

Jean Foillard owns some of the best land in all of Beaujolais. The Côte du Py is considered by many to be the best site in Beaujolais with its soils of iron-rich schist on an alluvial fan at the highest point above the town. He also owns a parcel on the granitic soils of the lieu-dit Corcelette as well as in Fleurie. These top sites with winemaking faithful to the terroir makes wines of deep structure, lushness and complexity.

We've just received Jean's wines from the excellent 2023 vintage to share with you. We have the '23 'Morgon Corcelette' as well as the '23 'Morgon Cote du Puy' - same village from 2 different exceptional sites. These would be good to pick up and drink side by side. We also have the '23 'Fleurie' which represents his efforts outside of his homeground in Morgon - also an excellent and thoughtful wine. We also have the '21 of this in a magnum bottle. Jean Foillard is without a doubt one the best winemakers, not just in Beaujolais, but in all of France. Pick up these wines and you'll see for yourself!

 

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Equipo Navazos

Equipo Navazos have taken the world by storm with their outrageously good, unique and rare bottlings of sherry sourced from the depths of relatively unknown cellars. Eduardo Ojeda and Jesús Barquín started this endeavour roughly 20 years ago when they were tasting through some 400 casks of Manzanilla at the bodega of Sánchez Ayala in Sanlucar and they had the idea to buy a cask, initially just to make some wine for friends. Barquín is one of Spain’s leading experts and writers on Sherry, while Ojeda, one of Jerez’s leading tasters and blenders, is the technical director for the Estévez group, owners of Valdespino and La Guita Manzanilla. The reception to these wines was even greater than expected so one thing led to another and now they are producing some of the best sherry in the world.

Since their first cask of Amontillado—named simply Bota de Amontillado No.1 after the short story by Edgar Allan Poe, ‘The Cask of Amontillado’—each successive, limited-edition bottling has been numbered accordingly and bottled En Rama: straight from the cask. The wines are selected for sheer quality as well as their distinct personalities. Using their ridiculously amount of knowledge and contacts in the industry, Navazos have gone on to assemble the greatest Sherries on the market while also promoting the historical and cultural traditions of the wine and region.

We've stocked up on some more of our favourite Sherry, from the entry-level through to their most exclusive bottlings. The 'I Think Manzanilla En Rama Saca de Mar 2024 NV' is an excellent introduction to their work and is probably the best Manzanilla you can find under $50. Anyone who is interested in what Equipo Navazos are doing but are not yet prepared to drop the necessary coin on their rarer bottlings, start with this one and you won't be disappointed. We have many other bottlings whose full names and and Bota numbers would fill out a few more paragraphs and probably confuse rather than elucidate; however, what we do have spans a range of Sherry styles and bottle sizes. These wines have captivated the world of wine and have us wine nerds on the edge of our seats tracking the next releases from certain single casks. Try some of these to see what the hype is about!

 

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Domaine de Crève Cœur

Nestled against the hillside of Séguret, the family home, known for over a century as "Crève Cœur," gave its name to the estate. This is where the adventure began and a passion was born. Pablo Hocht decided to return to his homeland after studying chemical engineering in Strasbourg and Montpellier to become a winemaker and trained at the DNO in Montpellier for 2 years to make this happen. The estate was established in 2010 along with the acquisition of 2 hectares in Sablet followed by some choice purchases since then to the point where they are able to craft small-scale, terroir-driven wines today.

"Wine is a creation. A clever blend of human expertise, terroir, and the bounty of nature."

Paul wants his story, dreams and passions to be expressed through his wine, through old vines lovingly cultivated with respect for the soil and plants. Paul began working biodynamically from the very start and received the certification from Demeter in 2014, only 4 years after the winery was established. There is a vast array of life on the estate, which can be seen in greater detail on their website for those that are curious and includes maintaining and fostering a habitat for the local Little Bustard bird. The estate is primarily planted with old vines of Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah, and Cinault. The oldest vines, in Sablet, were planted after the war, while those in Séguret were planted in the early 1970s. For the most part, these vines are trained in goblet form, the traditional pruning of the region. The vines are treated only with copper, sulfur and biodynamic preparations (horn manure, manure compost, silica, herbal teas from various plants) and the soil is worked mechanically.

We tasted 2 of these wines that other week and we were so impressed that we bought both without a second question. The '23 'Sablet Cotes Du Rhone' is an 80/20 split of Grenache/Mourvèdre made with whole bunches, indigenous yeasts and aged in old barrels for 12 months. The '23 'Pachamama' is a 50/50 blend of Grenache and Syrah from grapes on a hillside facing due east with a longer and more harmonious maturity. This is made similarly to the previous wine with the addition of being partially aged in demi-muids. These were some of the silkiest, spicy and savoury Côtes du Rhônes we've had - something I would recommend to Pinot lovers looking to try something new and exciting. Check out these new additions to the store and stock up for winter!

 

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Saison Aperitifs Vermouth Tasting

Saturday 21st

3pm-6pm

Join us this Saturday as we taste through some of the store’s favourite vermouth - Saison Aperitifs.

Saison Aperitifs was founded by Dave Verheul in 2020 - a celebrated chef (Embla in Melbourne) and lover of bitter drinks with the notion that vermouth and amaro could be brighter, fresher, more singular in flavour. The name Saison stems from the fact that they aim to capture their favourite seasonal moments in the bottle. 

Every aperitif they make starts with a core ingredient that is picked at its peak with seasonal notes added to enhance the expression, not to obscure or mask anything. They source wild foraged herbs, fruit and flowers from small-scale growers and multiple Australian varieties of the required herb wormwood which they know how to get the best out of with decades of kitchen experience.

This is what we'll be pouring on the day:

Saison Red Vermouth

2025 Saison White Flowers Vermouth

2024 Saison Spring Rhubarb Vermouth

2024 Saison Fallen Quinces Vermouth

2025 Saison Black Walnut Vermouth

Saison Artichoke Vin Amaro

These are some of the most exciting vermouths in the country - come down to the store this weekend to see what all the fuss is about!

Wishing you a great week from the team: Chris, Pete and Aaron.

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