The Black Collection

Affectionately known as, “the Grosbois Boys,” Sylvain and Nicolas are two brothers that can trace their winemaking heritage in Chinon back to 1820. They basically have Cabernet Franc in their blood. From their pristine property atop Chinon’s famous Panzoult Hill, their aim is to grow wines that reflect their lively clay and limestone soils. No sulfur added to ferments, wild yeast, long, cool macerations, and concrete aging remove most human influence from the equation. Alongside their grape vines, you’ll find biodynamically grown wheat, fruit trees, vegetables, forest-dwelling pigs, and cattle roaming here and there, just like you would have many decades ago. It’s a holistic project centering on soil health and biodiversity — oh, and the wines are stupendous.

La Croix de Bois, or La Croix Boisée, refers to one of the most prized sites for vinegrowing in all of the Loire. The esteemed Matthieu Baudry has compared the way that the soil undulates on this hillside, going from sandy clay at the foot of the vineyard, to clay and limestone, and finally pure limestone at the summit, to the hills of Burgundy’s Nuit-Saint-Georges and Beaune. Underneath the eponymous wooden cross that sits at the crest of this vineyard, the Grosbois’s southern-facing, old-vine Cabernet Franc achieves both uncommon ripeness, and minerality thanks to these tremendously unique soils.

After a hot and humid Spring, heavy rainfall in June did not exactly spell the best vintage in Chinon in 2023. However, despite the immense disease pressure, thanks to the deliberate, natural farming of the Grosboises, the brothers were able to harvest a majority of their grapes. Sustained sun and high temperatures all the way to September 20th, when the harvest took place, ensured ideal ripeness, and ultimately drinkability of the wines.

The grapes are immediately crushed after entering the winery, and left to ferment on the skins for eighteen days, while one pumpover a day is carried out to maintain the softness and elegance of the wine. The alcoholic fermentation takes place in large, traditional concrete tanks, and then transferred to 2nd use oak barrels - this deliberately slow, less intrusive approach ensures a velvety texture in the wine with plenty of ripe fruit.

Chinon is the world’s greatest Cabernet Franc region. It’s been recognized as such since Cistercian Monks planted the grape there in the 14th century. Part of the reason lies beneath the Earth. The unique limestone here – called “tuffeau” – which the monks used to build their monasteries, imparts a unique freshness to these wines.

The operation at the Domaine is a family affair - Jean-Christophe trims and trains the same vineyards his grandfather planted just after World War II, and walks the same stone cellars as his five preceding generations. Those same stone cellars have existed since the 12th century, when Augustine monks made wine by candlelight here. There is history in their very situation in Saint-Bris, and surely more at stake here than just making great wine. The vignerons of Bersan respect their heritage through meticulous, honest, traditional caretaking of their family land. It’s no wonder that their working motto is,”healthy vines makes good fruit makes good wine.

A very small half-hectare vineyard, distinct in Burgundy for the prevalence of white clay here among the Yonne Valley’s typical kimmeridgian limestone. The vines are trained in a traditional single guyot, and face the South overlooking the river Yonne, and ensuring full ripeness year-after-year.

Like Chablis, 2023 was a steady vintage in the Côtes d’Auxerre with no frost in the Spring, and just a bit of scattered rain amidst high temperatures in September. The bit of rain naturally increased yields, and diluted fruit a bit, making this an approachable and generous vintage for Pinot Noir around the Yonne river. The rugged limestone soils here impart an unmistakable minerality, even in this more generous vintage, the Bersan “Les Hourdons” is brimming with tension.

Ripe Pinot Noir grapes are harvested by hand, hand-sorted, and then 80% destemmed before being vatted in stainless steel tanks. The grapes undergo a cold maceration for five to six days to enhance the Pinot’s signature aromas before alcoholic fermentation begins. During fermentation, the temperature is held below 82 ℉, and light pumpovers are performed for three weeks to gently extract pigment, tannin, and aroma. The grape skins are pressed off with a pneumatic press, and only the free run juice is then transferred to 1500 liter oak barrels.

Northwest of Burgundy’s famous Cote d’Or, you will find one of French wine’s best-kept secrets, the Côtes d’Auxerre. Lying on the same vein of cherished Kimmeridgian limestone as Chablis, these difficult soils do wondrous things for many vines, and many grape varieties. The sunny Southwest-facing Pinot Noir of the region has a distinct smokiness, and is a bit more ethereal than its southern cousins. These sparsely-planted, northerly slopes may not yield the opulent, roundly-oaked wines of the South, but they possess a tension and minerality that makes them one of Burgundy’s most unique sub-regions, and one where the wise oenophile can still find tremendous value.