2020 OLIVIER PITHON LAIS BLANC COTES CATALANES

2020 OLIVIER PITHON LAIS BLANC COTES CATALANES, LANGUEDOC-ROUSSILLON, FRANCE. 60% Maccabeu, 20% Grenache Gris, 20% Grenache Blanc.

From the Importer: 60% Maccabeu, 20% Grenache Gris, 20% Grenache Blanc on schist. Direct press, fermented and aged in foudre and barrel for 10 months. Citrus, fennel, caramelized onion...am I writing a recipe for what to pair with this? No, the wine actually has all these aromatics. But yes! That's certainly the base I'd use for any seafood dish to serve alongside this, with some tomato and maybe chorizo for added depth of flavor. Paris equally well with creamier dishes and a host of cheeses.

About: “I’ve had only one desire: to give everything to my vines so that then they give it back in their grapes and in my wine. You must be proud and put your guts, your sweat, your love, your desires, your joy and your dreams into your wine.”

Originally from Anjou, Olivier grew up working in the vineyard. Rebellious youth he headed to Bordeaux to continue his studies and in 2001 settled in Calce after being introduced to Gérard Gauby by his brother Jo (Pithon-Paillé). Oilvier came to Calce with his cow Laïs and his mare and immediately set to work farming a few hectares organically and biodynamically. He was the 2nd in the village to do so which earned him the nickname "Bio-man." Today the domaine has 19 hectares of certified organic and biodynamic vines which Olivier farms with the help of 6 cows.

Calce is at 300 meters, situated between the Mediterranean, the Pyréenees and Corbières. The domaine has several distinct parcels of marl, shale, schist, limestone and clay and works with regional varietals: Carignan, Grenache and Mourvèdre for the reds and Maccabeu, Grenache Gris and Grenache Blanc for the whites.

What convinced me to begin working with Olivier was tasting through a series of his library wines going back to the early 2000's at a dinner in Montpellier. I was blown away by how alive, vibrant and expressive his whites and reds alike were with 5, 10, 15+ years bottle age and how seemlessly they paired with elevated cuisine. The vibrancy, complexity and elegance of the whites in particular, resonated with me and perfectly illustrated a point that Jean Gonon has made many about his St Joseph Blanc from Marsanne and Rousanne - richer styled southern French grapes that can often come across as cloying, lacking acidity or imbalanced in their youth can actually gain acidity and energy as they age if they're grown on the right terroirs and farmed and vinified correctly. Essentially, they loose their baby fat with time, which allows the underlying acidity at the core of the wine to fully express itself. What seemed "fat" on release transforms into luscious, complex texture elevated by more noticeable acidity and aromatic complexity as the wine ages and matures in bottle.

That said, the two single parcels we currently have in stock, '18 Maccabeu and '18 Pilou Carginan we currently have in stock, though babys, are both approachable now. And the Laïs Blanc '20 and Laïs Rouge '19 we just got in are absolutely singing now. I went deep on the Laïs Blanc as it's quickly become one of my personal favorite wines in the portfolio and I knew it would be a killer BTG with it's perfect balance of citrusy herbal notes, salinity, rich texture punctuated by vibrant acid, a kiss of reduction and that schist minerality I so love.

Olivier named his flagship wines Laïs after his Jersey cow who followed him to Catalan country and that image captures his style perfectly - mouthwatering, wild southern, age worthy wines with northern salinity and finesse. (Importer)