Domaine Clotaire Michal
Clotaire MICHAL
Clotaire is part of the new generation of the natural and organic Beaujolais wine scene. Former sommelier student, Clotaire had his first experience in the vineyard in 2003 at Clos Marie (Languedoc) where he worked for five years. He then moved to Rhône Valley to increase his knowledge working alongside Thierry Allemand in Cornas. This lone wolf settled in Beaujolais in 2014 and is now dealing with 4.5 hectares on his own. He's producing 2 main cuvées of Beaujolais Village as well as a confidential small cuvée of a selection of the best berries aged for 3 years (first vintage 2016).
The vines are farmed organically but the domaine is not certified. Soils are ploughed only once in winter and then grass is manually managed during the season. Yields are kept low, at around 30 hectolitres / hectare.
The grapes are vinified in whole cluster, go for a 12 days maceration and ferment with indigenous yeasts before being pressed. The fermentation then finishes in liquid state and the wine is aged for 9 month in both used barrels and concrete tanks. The top cuvée Libation is aged for 12 months in barrels, 12 months in concrete tanks and 12 months in bottles. Wine are bottled without fining or filtration and only a small amount of sulfur is added before bottling.
"The wines are vinified in a natural style giving birth to wonderfully concentrated and structured Gamay wines"