Domaine Leonine, "Bottle Neck" 2021

Around 2004, Stéphane Morin could be found in France’s capital, plying his trade as a professional photographer. But that was another time, another life – it would be in the following year that Stéphane would trade in for another path, one that took him to the deep south of France, the rugged reaches of the country’s gestures into Catalonia, where the Pyrénees mountains begin to undulate and rise, nearly sculpted by the fearsome tramontane wind scaling toward the Mediterranean from the north. It was while studying viticulture in a town here whose name may be famous for sweet wines – Rivesaltes – that Stéphane had some chance run-ins with Jean-François Nicq (Les Foulards Rouges) who became a kind of mentor to Stéphane, showing him the wider world of natural viticulture that Jean-François was helping stoke, specifically in the Banyuls/Roussillon. Given this was over 17 years ago, Stéphane is now a bona fide trailblazer in his own right, considered one of the mainstays of the ‘natural wine’ movement in the south. He produces a range that, while zero/zero, runs the gamut from deep, fearsome Catalan Reds to deliciously clean ‘glou-glou’ reds with a velvety distinctly southern texture, to uber-bright rosés come summer time (you’ve maybe had the ‘Qué Pasa’ rosé in years past). A nice note from his Australian importer also paints a beautiful image of the project at Leonine: “His cellar is above ground, but interestingly he has covered it with a thick layer of soil and grass to keep it cool and to keep the temperature regulated through the warmer months. From a distance it looks like a small hill! Standing on the grass roof looking out over the vines is breathtaking to say the least. There is a sense of calm, peace, and harmony here in this picturesque setting.”

Languedoc, France. A perfect burger wine, juicy and bright, comprised of equal parts Syrah and Grenache. The grapes undergo carbonic maceration before being pressed and aged in stainless steel tank. Unfined, unfiltered, no SO2.