About the Domaine
Passionate about wine from a young age, Clotaire Michal began his career in wine as a sommelier. After several years working in top restaurants in France and Great Britian, Clotaire began a 5-year apprenticeship with Christophe Peyrus at the renowned Clos Marie in Pic Saint-Loup. In 2008 Clotaire returned to his native Rhône Valley to work under one of the greatest and most emblematic winegrowers in Frane, Thierry Allemand. It was here, working with the undisputed master of Cornas, where he learned to work without chemicals, to work with the granitic soils of the Northern Rhône Valley, and to understand all the tiny details that contribute to building great wines.
For 5 years Clotaire worked daily with Thierry at his Domaine and produced a small amount of St. Joseph from just over a hectare of vines he purchased in 2008. However, with limited vineyard area and land prices rising, there was no prospect for Clotaire to build a self-sustaining Domaine of his own in the Northern Rhône. After much searching Clotaire fell in love with a 4ha property with very old vines south of Brouilly in St-Étienne-La Varenne. In late 2013 he was able to purchase the property and an old existing cellar.
The first vintage was 2014 and it’s hard to believe these wines are still relatively unknown. Clotaire’s wife Yuka joined him in 2018 and since that time the Domaine has been a collaboration between them.
The vines are 40-to-100+ years old and planted on soils of pink granite and sand. In the vines there is no use of pesticides, chemicals, or other synthetic products. All grapes are hand harvested and fermented whole bunch using only the naturally occurring indigenous yeasts. Apart from a minimal sulfur addition of 1-3mg/L during the fermentation phase, there are no additions made to the wines. Élevage is a minimum 16 months for most of the cuvées and carried out predominantly in large used oak barrels.
These are a far cry from the juicy, carbonic style of Beaujolais that has become so popular over the past 10-15 years. Yuka and Clotaire do not produce “glouglou” wines. What they do craft are structured Vin de Garde Gamay’s that we can’t get enough of. We have not been this high on a producer in quite some time, and we are so very honored to be a small part of what Yuka and Clotaire are doing.
View Label
Region: Beaujolais
Appellation: Vin de France
Grapes: 100% Gamay
Average Vine Age: 40 to 80 years-old
Altitude: 1,260 feet (385m)
Soils/Terroir: Sandy pink granite soils with a southeast exposition
Farming: Organic
Harvest: Hand harvested
Yield: 25 hl/ha
Winemaking: 15-day whole cluster fermentation in a 3-year-old Foudre of 40hl using only the naturally occurring indigenous yeasts. On the 16th day the grapes are pressed and transferred back to the Foudre to complete fermentation. A very low dose of sulfur was added at the press, and no further sulfur additions were made during the vinification and ageing of this wine.
Maturation: Aged for 16 months in a 3-year-old Foudre of 40hl. Bottled without fining or filtration.
pH: 3.39
Total SO2: <10ppm
View Label
Region: Beaujolais
Appellation: Vin de France
Grapes: 100% Gamay
Average Vine Age: 100+ years-old
Altitude: 1,260 feet (385m)
Soils/Terroir: Sandy pink granite soils with southeast and north expositions
Farming: Organic
Harvest: Hand harvested
Yield: 25 hl/ha
Winemaking: 20-day whole cluster fermentation in large neutral vats using only the naturally occurring indigenous yeasts. On the 21st day the grapes are pressed and transferred back to neutral vats to complete fermentation. A very low dose of sulfur was added at the press, and no further sulfur additions were made during the vinification and ageing of this wine.
Maturation: Aged for 16 months, predominantly in a new 23hl oak Foudre. A small portion is aged in used 225L oak barrels. The wine is bottled without fining or filtration.
pH: 3.37
Total SO2: <10ppm
View Label
Region: Beaujolais
Appellation: Vin de France
Grapes: 100% Gamay
Average Vine Age: 60 years-old
Altitude: 1,260 feet (385m)
Soils/Terroir: Sandy pink granite soils with a southeast exposition
Farming: Organic
Harvest: Hand harvested
Yield: 20 hl/ha
Winemaking: 30-day whole cluster fermentation in large neutral vats using only the naturally occurring indigenous yeasts. On the 31st day the grapes are pressed and transferred back to neutral vats to complete fermentation. No sulfur additions were made during the vinification and ageing of this wine.
Maturation: Aged for 24 months in used 225L oak barrels and bottled without fining or filtration. The wine is aged a further 12 months in bottle before release.
pH: 3.49
Total SO2: <5ppm
View Label
Region: Beaujolais
Appellation: Vin de France
Grapes: 100% Gamay
Average Vine Age: 60 years-old
Altitude: 1,260 feet (385m)
Soils/Terroir: Sandy pink granite soils with a southeast exposition
Farming: Organic
Harvest: Hand harvested
Yield: 20 hl/ha
Winemaking: 30-day whole cluster fermentation in large neutral vats using only the naturally occurring indigenous yeasts. On the 31st day the grapes are pressed and transferred back to neutral vats to complete fermentation. No sulfur additions were made during the vinification and ageing of this wine.
Maturation: Aged for 24 months in used 225L oak barrels and bottled without fining or filtration. The wine is aged a further 12 months in bottle before release.
pH: 3.42
Total SO2: <5ppm
View Label
Region: Beaujolais
Appellation: Vin de France
Grapes: 100% Gamay
Average Vine Age: 40 years-old
Altitude: 1,260 feet (385m)
Soils/Terroir: Sandy pink granite soils with a southeast exposition
Farming: Organic
Harvest: Hand harvested
Yield: 25 hl/ha
Winemaking: A méthode ancestrale sparkling wine. The grapes are directly pressed upon arrival in the cellar. Spontaneous fermentation in stainless steel tanks using only naturally occurring indigenous yeasts. When the fermenting grape must reaches a density of 1,005 the wine is bottled under a crown cap, and fermentation finishes in the bottle. No sulfur additions were made during the vinification and ageing of this wine.
Maturation: Aged in bottle “sur latte” for 9 months in the cellar. At the completion of the aging process each bottle is disgorged, removing the sediment from the fermentation. The finished wine has a little more than 1 gram of residual sugar.
pH: 3.4
Total SO2: <5ppm
