2018 Ergastoline

Aurélien Lefort’s growing interest in wine led him away from Paris to visit biodynamicist Michel Auger in Loire as well as as Patrick Bouju in Auvergne. In 2011, this is where he moved to – more specifically to the village of Madriat.

To begin with, Aurélien Lefort started restoring wild vineyards that had either been abandoned or were polluted. Today, they have become three hectares of healthy plots, each of which give a very low yield. The soil here is quite different from that of the winemakers further north. The subsoil is less volcanic and is topped by different types of clay as well as quartz and granite. The vineyards are planted with a wide range of varieties, some of which are about 120 years old. These include Pinot Noir, Gamay d’Auvergne and Chardonnay, each of which ripens at its own pace and is harvested accordingly.

Aurélien Lefort has turned some of his vinification upside down and lets whole clusters macerate longer than the wine is allowed to subsequently age. He succeeds in this by using a low level of extraction by pressing the must directly into small tanks. This affects the wine in a way that is not unlike carbonic maceration but without the addition of CO2 – and at no point sulphur is added. Also, Aurélien is originally an illustrator, so it should come as no surprise that he makes his own labels.

In the cellar under his house, Aurélien fills very few barrels with wine depending on the harvest, which in some years can be badly damaged by hail and frost. Considering the limited quantities of Aurélien Lefort’s wines along with their incredible purity, depth and intensity, praise yourself lucky if you get the chance of grabbing a bottle.