Sylvain Martel
Juliénas, Beaujolais, France
Sylvain Martel
Sylvain Martel completed his winemaking training in the Southern Rhone and spent ten years running a small organic estate in the Ardeche. He relocated to Beaujolais, after the Graillot family of Crozes-Hermitage brought him on board to help establish and manage Domaine de Fa. As fate would have it, Sylvain met Anne-Sophie Dubois in 2016 and settled down in Fleurie. By 2018 he was ready to start his own project and purchased a 1.3ha plot of 45 year old Gamay vines on a dramatic steep slope at 450m altitude in the lieu-dit of Bessay in the western part of Julienas. A terroir of blue stones, the tree-lined vineyard is planted to a high density, cultivation is organic and the yields are kept low (25hl/ha).
A big thank you to Anne-Sophie for introducing his wines to us. The total production is tiny - 3,600 bottles, but the future looks bright.
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Sylvain Martel completed his winemaking training in the Southern Rhone and spent ten years running a small organic estate in the Ardeche. He relocated to Beaujolais, after the Graillot family of Crozes-Hermitage brought him on board to help establish and manage Domaine de Fa. Then in 2016, Sylvain met Anne-Sophie Dubois and settled down in Fleurie and it is thanks to Anne-Sophie that we were introduced to his wines.
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Juliénas is distinct from the other crus of Beaujolais due to the unique soil composition. Les Pierres Bleus, or blue stones, cover nearly half of the surface area on the slopes and are mixed with diorites, a magmatic rock, micro-diorites and schist formations. While the greater part of Beaujolais is dominated by granite, the soils here are composed of only 3% granite which is sprinkled like veins throughout the AOC.
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These are vines high on the hill with some clay but lots of blue-stone – ‘You notice straight away in the cuverie there’s a different side to this wine – not an easy parcel to work – we do everything with a Troye.’ - Sylvain Martel
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Very old vines. 100% Whole Cluster with a 10 day fermentation. Nine months in neutral barrels, indigenous yeasts, hand harvested. 2020 only second vintage.
Wines
Domaine Cabissou Juliénas Bessay
Fermentation is semi-carbonic using native yeasts and whole bunches after the teachings of Jules Chauvet, and the wine is allowed to age 9 months in old barrels before being bottled without fining or filtration.
Julienas Les Fouillouses
Located mid-slope of Mont Bessay south-facing exposure at an altitude of 350 meters.Composed from a lieu-dit of 3 parcels made up of old vines selection massale vines (0.55 ha) and young vines (0.20 ha) and planted on a deep soil of "blue stone" terroir. The parcels are a high density planting (8 to 10,000 vines/hectare). Vinification: Semi-carbonic for 14 days, aged in vats. Bottled without filtration.