Allante & Boulanger, Amalgame, 2020

Grippy, Meaty, Dark Fruits

Jura / Red / Blend / Organic, Biodynamic 

 
* Please note that because there is limited stock of this wine it is not subject to any further discount. 

The cuvée Almagamé comes from the plot Vigne Au Daim in Gizia – Christian and Mathieu took over the parcel from a local elder in 2011 and co-planted many different varieties. "Virtually extinct Jura vine" is how Jancis, Julia and José describe the petit béclan in their book of reference Wine Grapes. Totally destemmed and co-fermented, aged in 300ltr barriques for 12 months, it has a dense and grippy structure with ripe black fruit and moreish acids.

 Notes on the producer

Christian Boulanger worked full-time at Domaine Labet for over 15 years, he's part of the family – a third sibling for Charline, Romain and Julien Labet. Along with his friend Mathieu Allante (who also did a stint with the Labets) have been gathering small parcels over the years: patiently waiting for opportunities, they've been leasing and buying plots alongside recovering historical vineyards. They are two men for two cellars: one is in Rotalier where Christian lives and the other at Mathieu’s, near Gizia 15km south – a set up somehow practical since their vines grow around and between these two villages.

Allante & Boulanger's holdings comprise two plots in Rotalier, La Chèvre – 90yo vines perched atop a ridge, and the lieu-dit Patarate – 70yo vines with different strains of trousseau including the cherished 'à la dame' cultivar; there's also one plot in the village of Maynal (on the way from Rotalier to Gizia) taken over from JF 'Fanfan' Ganevat; and finally two plots in Gizia, at 400-450m altitude, where the duo has accomplished an impressive feat: clearing abandoned vineyards from the invading forest, and planting all Jura varieties as well as pineau d'aunis and mondeuse. The wilderness around Gizia is stunning with majestic cliffs surrounding the vineyards, no wonder they fell in love with this unique terroir. 

Vinification occurs in the basement of an ancient parish – Mathieu lives above – and the approach is minimalistic: whole bunches for the whites while the reds are hand-destemmed, the pressing is slow with the help of a basket press, slow fermentation and long ageing follow in older wooden vessels of different sizes and shapes; there's no fining or filtration and bottling is done 'à la chèvre' (manual gravity bottling using a spouted device).

For many years Christian and Mathieu's day jobs were their main source of income, they made a point of being financially independent, without pressure from the banks or anyone else for that matter. They've taken risks and avoided compromising to fully express their sensitivity and creativity – making additive-free wines from Fukuoka-inspired farming.