Wines

Ludovic’s respect for traditional methods is balanced by a thoughtful experimental streak which he has indulged in more in recent years. In 2020, he planted half a hectare of Chenin Blanc in the stony soils of Les Rieux near his good pal Guillaume Gilles’ place. Les Rieux’s cool microclimate and stony soil are well suited to Chenin, and the resulting wine—aged half in terracotta jar and half in used barrique—shows vibrant acidity, with notes of acacia honey and fresh nuts alongside subtly salty mineral elements.

Pure Roussanne aged partly in terracotta jar and partly in a single three-year-old 228-liter barrel, this micro-cuvée from vines planted in 2014 offers intense minerality beneath its overlay of exotic almond-inflected apricot fruit, with a lip-smackingly pulpy texture and a vivid overall sense of purity. One feels the influence of the Châteaubourg vineyard’s limestone soils in the wine’s directness of line and mineral elegance.

Just as his friend Guillaume Gilles stepped outside his home zone in recent years to bottle a Gamay, Ludovic recently gained access to a friend’s parcel of 95-year-old Carignan in the schist of Saint-Chinian, in the Languedoc, bottling it for the first time with the 2021 harvest and christening it “Rien Que du Carignan” (“Nothing But Carignan”). They produce only about 11 hectoliters of wine—fermented naturally and aged in a combination of used demi-muid and used barrique—from this ancient half-hectare parcel. Punchily spicy yet beguiling in its purity of fruit, this is deeply mineral Carignan that flirts with downright elegance.

From a friend’s vineyard in Saint-Chinian in the Languedoc—the same source as the “Rien Que du Carignan” above—Ludovic and Corinne produce tiny quantities of a pure Mourvèdre from vines planted in the mid-2000s. Like the Carignan, “Rien Que du Mourvèdre” (“Nothing but Mourvèdre”) spends a year in used barrels after a total de-stemming and a spontaneous fermentation, and it offers a fascinating combination of smoked meat, tangy acidity, barbecue spices, and lifted black fruits on its gently structured and energetic palate.

Ludovic and Corinne own just shy of a hectare of Saint-Joseph, in the village of Châteaubourg—the southernmost village in the appellation, just north of Cornas. Half of their holding is a younger parcel, and the other half was planted in the 1950s, both on clay-limestone soils with a high occurrence of large limestone galets. As with their Cornas, they vinify the Saint-Joseph without de-stemming, and age it for 18 months in used 600-liter demi-muids before bottling without fining or filtration. This is Saint-Joseph with a Cornas sensibility: embracing of its spiciness, firmly structured, and rivetingly mineral-driven.

After the élevage, the wines are assembled to make a single cuvée known as “Terre Brulée”. The bottling takes place after two winters have passed. All work is done by gravity. The wine is never fined nor is it filtered. There is a single bottling of the entire lot. We have been buying the wines of the Domaine Lionnet since the 2004 vintage. Their Cornas is a true classic: firm, sturdy, rigorously tannic, explosively aromatic, complete and satisfying. We are indebted to Bernard Levet for his wise counsel in leading us to the doorstep of the formidable Domaine Lionnet in Cornas. We have the privilege of purchasing 24,00 bottles and 90 magnums per vintage.

From a southeast-facing one-hectare parcel of selection massale Syrah, planted between 2008 and 2011, in the vineyard of Saint-Pierre at 380 meters altitude. The combination of high altitude and pure granite soil (hence the name) yields a taut, racy Cornas of remarkable focus and mineral purity. This offers penetrating spicy aromatics and intense stoniness on the palate, with a sense of real concentration that is remarkable given the vines’ youth. This energetic and vivacious wine offers a slightly more easygoing counterpart to the Lionnet’s “Terre Brûlée” Cornas.

With the 2020 harvest, Ludovic began bottling a portion of his fruit from the legendary Chaillot vineyard separately. These 80-year-old vines produce a wine of stunning depth and complexity, with a sexy nose of Indian spice and warm stone, and sappy, vibrant fruit that slathers the entire palate. As is customary at Lionnet, this is fermented whole-cluster in cement with no temperature control and bottled without fining or filtration.