Alcohol: 12.5%
Grape(s): 100% Chardonnay
Localization: Burgundy, France
Tasting Notes: Made from a 0.40ha parcel of 50-year-old vines high up a south-east facing slope of 'terre blanche' – a very stony limestone-clay soil that is difficult to plow and weathers out many fossils. Only 1% of Monthélie vineyards are planted with chardonnay, invariably at the top of hillsides. Aged for 15 months in 4yo 350ltr barrels, this wine coats the palate. It’s elegant with limestone-induced salivation, incisive freshness, and a floral touch. The finish is lengthy, clear, and precise.
The Domain: After a long professional life in the fashion and garment industry in Paris, Pierre decided to follow his heart and moved to Burgundy to become a winemaker.
As is the way with biodynamics, the universe conspired to introduce Pierre to Rudolf Steiner through happenstance. He bought one of Steiner’s book on a whim at a Parisian flea market and thus began his journey from cloth to vine. This path included raising cows (to learn farming biodynamically) and “interning” with Trapet, Lapierre, and Emmanuel Giboulot. In 2002 he purchased his first 2.5 hectares of vines in Maranges and in the Haute Côtes de Beaune.
Pierre’s winery is located in Saint-Aubin and he now also rents and owns vines in Santenay, Monthelie, and Corton including a plot of Le Corton itself.
As for the name Belles Lies, it derives from a practice developed by 17th-century monks who would dry their barrels and rub them with the lees from the vintage. A fitting technique for a vigneron who is yielding pure, traditional translations of place
Buy 6 bottles of regularly priced (not on sale) wines and receive 5% off.
Buy 12 and receive 10% off.
Email sale wines do not combine nor count towards the above discount.
We would consider all wine to be "Natural". The term "Natural Wine" has the connotation of lacking a touch with nature. The winegrowers we champion are those who are farmers first. They seek to capture the uniqueness of the site (terroir) in the purest way possible. The product is as pure as possible and without wine-making flaws (brettanomyces, mercaptans, volatile acidity, etc.
Raw, in this case, we define as realistic and not manipulated. The winemakers use the least amount of intervention as possible. Wine should be made in the vineyard, not the cellar. The winemaker's job is to get the wine into the bottle in the purest form possible. There are additives that go into making wine, some are essential and some are not. Wines in this category do not have extra additives. They are free of added sulfur, or have the most minimal amounts possible in order to provide shelf stability for the consumer to experience the wine as the winemaker intended it to be.
