Some fifteen years ago we celebrated the rise of Priorat, where several Bordeaux-trained winemakers were making bold, rich wines in the vein of what was popularized at that point - look to a few critics for their heavy-handed influence there! Today, the region has come almost full circle, epitomized in the Nin-Ortiz collaboration which honors the teachings of Nicolas Joly, bringing biodynamics, precision and delicacy to a historically important region.

Nin-Ortiz

In every region there are traditionalists and radicals, but Ester Nin straddles both sides. A native of the Alt Penedes, she worked as a viticulturist in the Priorat following her studies in biology at the University of Barcelona, and earned her way to working for Daphne Glorian at Clos i Terrasses - you may know the Clos Erasmus well. Part of the Gratallops Project in Priorat, Daphne looked to Ester to convert the entire estate to biodynamic viticulture. Gaining a strong foothold in the region's geology and temperament, Ester purchased her own plots on the steep hillsides above Priorat in 2004. As luck would have it, there was another aspiring enologist not too far away, seemingly destined to collide course. 

Carles Ortiz and Ester today form Familia Nin-Ortiz, bringing together their 6.5 hectares and their combined know-how to coax incredible depth and precision from their wrought, old vines. The emphasis on biodynamics mean a strong eye to the health of the vines, which, tunneled into essentially dense rock rather than soil produce a more elegant, mineral-focused version of the region's grapes that we had long associated with broad, powerful wines. 

All processes in the vineyard are guided by hand, plowed by mule, and again tended to by hand in the winery to assure the greatest quality and preservation of the most delicate flavors and aromas. 

Marco Pezzuto is part of the ongoing revolution of young, talented producers emerging from the Roero, which has continually proven to be a terrific source of wines of great finesse and brightness in contrast to the boldness and firm structure from the Langhe. With his first release in 2024, Marco's wines are captivating in their freshness, exuberance and drinkability while also showing a window to his promising talent as a vigneron within one of our favorite regions.

Marco Pezzuto

To introduce you to these wines, I'm going to jump to one of the last things said in our meeting, through interpreter Tom Myers: "These are wines that make you smile. Complexity doesn't need to be complicated."

That was In July of 2024, when we as a team had the opportunity to sit with the ebullient Marco Pezzuto, whose natural passion couldn't be contained by his lack of English fluency. The question posed to Tom, rather than Marco was, "Knee-jerk reaction, how do Marco's wines strike you?" And Tom's response perfectly captured what we had seen emitting from the man sitting next to him for the duration.

Marco says he came to the vineyards at a very young age, and was taken by the process, eventually enrolling in a local oenologically-focused high school. In 2006 he first worked a vineyard, and in 2007 he took his first job with a winery in Roero, the appellation within which he had grown up. Working with wineries within Roero and the Langhe provided a wealth of experience, exposing Marco to a variety of different styles; he admits that early on, he saw the Roero winemakers trying to more mirror the Langhe styles, as they had more successfully caught on commercially. Today, the pendulum has swung again, and Marco - along with Stefano Occhetti, another Roero native - is in the midst of those homegrown, talented young producers.

Bees. It was bees that framed Marco's understanding and led to his success. In 2017, he resigned from the winery to pursue a beekeeping as a vocation, eventually renting his first piece of land in 2018 which he would plant for himself that year. He grew his colonies from 200 families to 400, packaging his own honey and selling some in bulk. As his vineyard began to grow, just as he cared for his bees and what he surrounded them with in terms of crops, he too saw the level of care of the land impact the vines. From the original thought of creating wine to sell was borne the ideal of attaching his name to a label, to something he was proud of - all because of bees!

In 2021, Marco was able to create his first wine from his 2018 planting; he saw surprising promise in those wines, which emboldened him enough to seek out more vineyards to rent, more vines to give a solid base to the Marco Pezzuto domaine. In 2023, an opportunity was presented to rent a vineyard in Roero with plantings from 1950 & 1980; from his past experience he had seen that older vines would lend a more serious level of complexity, adding to the youthful exuberance of his own vineyard.

Marco acknowledges Roero for what it is, rather than trying to create other styles within it; while he admits he is still searching for his own style, what he's already created represents beautifully the direction of what we love about Roero. He admits he doesn't look to many producers as inspirations in terms of style, but rather their energy and impact. "So much of the other producers' wines are place-determined, so it doesn't make sense to use as a reference. There's a search in the Langhe to make wines with more finesse, more drinkable, whereas it's easier to do that in Roero," says Marco. Anyone who he looks to has created "An energy and a spirit in their wines," he says.

Back to Tom's musing on Marco's wines, he continued: "I see a great maturity in the wines already, in that he's not trying to overplay his hand. That's difficult when you're trying to find your way. Ultimately, they are fun to drink, but they have a sense of wisdom about them." Says Marco, "Terroir to me is not only the soil and microclimate, but also the person in the vineyard and winery. I want the wines to be complex but drinkable - on so many occasions, wines can seem like a bomb in the glass but you have trouble finishing them. I want an impressive nose, but I want you to be able to finish it quickly!"

Viticulture & Vinification

Marco crafts his wines within a cantina underneath his grandfather's house that he renovated, and will be adding additional equipment to in 2024, including temperature-controlled tanks for future warm vintages. He claims his winemaking process is "very simple" - for the red and rosato, he pays very close attention to the macerations, tasting consistently multiple times per day to capture "What I want and nothing more." Translation: these are wines of delicacy and brightness, the extractions controlled.

Without the addition of sulfur, the fermentations take off rather quickly. Most are fermented in wood, and all wines will age in wood, a small portion of which is new, given the rather small size and short history of the domaine. In the future, there will be cement tanks both for fermenting and aging.

In the vineyard, the processes are organically-focused; he saw early on with his bee colonies that they reacted very well to the strength of the soil stimulating the health of the flora surround them, so he will utilize his own compost that he's enriched with microorganisms, earthworms, and also the chipped & composted vine clippings from the year prior - one of the tenets of biodynamic viticulture in its cyclical nature.

With the 2023 vintage supplying 2 out of the 3 wines, the massive hailstorm in early July left him with about 10-15% of his expected crop, leaving almost no leaves on the vines. However, the lively soils contributed to incredible health of the remaining fruit, and Marco has been quite happy with the results. Eventually, he expects to create between 8-10,000 bottles each year; he doesn't want to go beyond his reach, to maintain that same energy and spirit (that he has so aspired to) within his own wines.

Guffens-Heynen

Guffens-Heynen wines haven't been in the US for over a decade, however they have remained as one of the most sought after domaines for Burgundy lovers. We had enjoyed various vintages in Europe and Japan, but due to the 10 year gap of not having a US importer, we wanted to seek out the wines and understand them a bit more. William Kelley, being a close friend, introduced us. Arriving at the estate for the initial visit, we spent nearly 9 hours conversing about wine and life.

Interestingly enough, we talk about focusing on young winemakers who are helping to re-define the future of winemaking. Winemakers who are making bold yet smart changes, and practicing healthy viticulture. It may not seem that Jean-Marie fits into this category, but he does in more ways than one! Jean-Marie and his wife Maine settled in Vergisson in 1976. Despite making wine since 1980, the rest aligns pretty closely. We never claim to be an importer of "organic or "biodynamic wines", but try to put a focus on the term healthy viticulture instead. We don't believe you need a certification to achieve something remarkable in the vineyard. Jean-Marie feels just the same wayfrom the appellation system and regulations to the term biodynamics.

After arriving in Vergisson from Belgium, they immediately emerged themselves into learning about winemaking and acquired their first plots of Pierreclos in 1979. Since the early 80s, Jean Marie has been pushing to prove that great chardonnay doesn't solely come from the Côte de Beaune. Nor does it have to have a 1er cru or Grand cru designation on the label. His first official vintage was 1982 with the wines from Vergisson, followed by starting the Negociant label- Verget in 1990. Verget is his project with purchased fruit from Chablis and Côte de Beaune

VITICULURE | GUFFENS-HEYNEN

Guffens believes in making honest wines. We often discuss producers and speak about who they have learned from or have philosophies similar to. Maybe the most controversial view is his dis-belief in the term terroir. This statement is easily misunderstood or questioned, but when you hear him speak about it- it makes more sense. He wants to do what is best for each vineyard in regards to farming and picking. Ultimately it takes a human, not just terroir, to make these decisions. The decision of when to plant, what to plant, how to manage the vineyard and all of the decisions to make at harvest. Although he isn't one for terms- he has created some of his own, non-cultivation. He works the soils only once a year, but only very shallowly. He uses a mower to control growth of grass and weeds with the idea that this limits nitrogen production and soil compaction. He does not deleaf or hedge his vines, as all of these things tend to support more vegetative growth and lower acidity in his grapes. He harvests late with pretty ripe grapes. The berries are typically smaller as are yields. If ripening is varying in the vineyards, it is time to harvest. Usually multiple passes happen each harvest, something not typically practiced in Burgundy. In total, the Domaine wines’ now consist of 5.65 hectares in Vergisson, Pierreclos, and Davaye.

VINIFICATION | GUFFENS-HEYNEN

As important as picking ripe grapes is in the vineyard, pressing may be one of the most crucial parts of winemaking to Jean-Marie. The grapes are lightly crushed before being pressed. In the winery a modified coquard press is used (also uncommon in Burgundy). The first press and free run juice is a crucial part of their pressing. This is the juice that is lower in PH and provides the incredible acidity we find in the Guffens wines. When done correctly, it is quite magical. All of this is what Jean-Marie really thinks makes the major difference. It is different from vintage to vintage and vineyard to vineyard, it’s usually slow and meticulously done. It is more the person working the press than the press itself. The wine is then transferred for fermentation- various size barrels and concrete depending on the vintage.