The crystalline insane values of the Goisot Family

……And in a jar, that’s Terroir!
The concept of terroir, as defined by wikipedia here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terroir, can briefly be summarized as a ‘sense of place’.  Among wine lovers, it seems to be polarizing: it is either the pinnacle of wine’s transcendent expressiveness, or utter hogwash.  For me personally, this singularity of character that emerges from the combination of physical and cultural forces unique to one place IS indeed a reality, and IS indeed what fascinates me most in the world of wine.
To give context to today’s introduction, the village of St Bris le Vineux is in the very northern reaches of Burgundy, just southwest from Chablis.  It shares the same Kimmeridgian limestone base and northern climate as Chablis, where vines have been cultivated since the 2nd century.  The area once belonged to the Chablis appellation, but after phylloxera cleaned house, it was cast down into the lowly Cotes D’Auxerre.  Today, St Bris is a large area, spanning almost 10 miles in width with an amazing variety of soils and exposures.  The appellation of St Bris is the only in Burgundy whose principal grape variety is NOT Chardonnay; rather, it calls Sauvignon Blanc the cepage of choice.  The Chardonnay and Pinot Noir planted there are labelled ‘Bourgogne Cotes D’Auxerre’.  Just 150 years ago, there were 40,000 hectares planted to vine.  Today, just 6000.  Most people have never even heard of St Bris, and if so, they’ve likely enountered the racy but watered down wines of Chablis’ large negociant houses.  Due to the prestige and prices fetched by their Chablis neighbors to the north, virtually no one has pushed the quality envelope in St Bris; the backbreaking work required to work these stony soils for the prices that the wines often fetch is tantamount to economic suicide.  Thus, the investors continue to buy land in Chablis, and St Bris carries on its role as a ‘backwater’ appellation, most of whose fruit is grown for pure volume and sold off in bulk.  Among this dormant potential, there is one shining star; one that is so bright, that it is almost blinding.  The family behind these wines just might make some of the finest values in utterly delicious, transparent, complex, and terroir driven wines that you will find anywhere on the planet.  When I debated whom to work with to best represent what this part of Burgundy has to offer, there was only one name that would do: Goisot.

The Goisot family, http://www.goisot.com, has cultivated the vine in St Bris le Vineux since the 14th century.  Their winery lies partially in the former garrison of the town, from whence they get the name ‘Corps de Garde’ for some of their wines.  They own and farm all of their own land, thus every bit of what they make is domaine produced and bottled.  Here, the women work alongside the men, as it has been for several generations; this is not, and was not, common practice…..At the helm of the domaine today is father Jean Hugues and son Guilhem, alongside their wives, Ghislaine and Marie.  The domaine is 100% Demeter certified biodynamic, which is as hard core as it gets in organic viticulture.  Within France, their wines are widely celebrated; 50-70% of their production is consumed domestically.
I met with son Guilhem on a rainy evening in January.  He’s a big dude in stature, but with a gentle, quiet confidence in his manner.  We ascended an outdoor spiral staircase into the magnificently renovated medieval chamber that now serves as their tasting room.  There were beautiful abstract art pieces fashioned by a local wool maker. Guilhem explained to me the primacy of holistic thinking when it comes to thier vineyard management.  Too often biodynamics is mired in the obscure esoteric elements, like buried calves’ horns and cosmic mumbo jumbo.  At its core, it is very simple: to view the entire ecosystem as an interrelated network.  If you create the healthiest total environment, it will make for the healthiest plants.  When you see how a vineyard responds to ‘difficult’ conditions and stress, it is night and day: the biodynamic vineyards are stronger and more adaptable.  The chemically farmed ‘sterile’ vineyards really suffer.  It makes common sense to us when it comes to our own immune sytems…..plants aren’t so different.
In any case, Guilhem proceeded to show me the current releases, which have just arrived to the Delaware warehouse.  They make an impressive 12 different bottlings, of which I’ve brought in 11!  He explained to me the desirable locations for planting Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, and Sauvignon Gris vines.  One cuvee at a time, the relationship between the soil type and the wine’s character were starkly apparent.  There is a brilliant trasparency and focus to every one of the wines that had me stunned from the start.  I couldn’t help but realize that the minute attention to detail and devotion to vineyard health effected by the Goisots are the reasons why each and every cuvee has that crystalline transparency and purity.  By the time that we got to the three ‘parcellary selection’ wines, their most extreme expressions of terroir, it hit me just how profound and humble this family’s work is.  Guilhem, quiet fire burning, explained to me the three images you see above.
The Gondonne soils: composed almost entirely of compacted tiny oyster shells and fine gray silt.  The most understated and taut of the trio, this is a wine of great finesse, with an airy coolness and mineral length.  Guilhem referred to it as the most connoisseur of the three.
The Biaumont soils: A variety of limestone, blue oysters, and fossils.  It is richer and quite explosive in both its fruit and mineral dimensions.  Guilhem remarked that it gets quite finessed with age, inspite of always being a punchy youth.
The Gueles de Loup soils: ‘pur calcaire’ or 100% limestone.  Both rich and palate stainingly mineral.  A Wow wine.

Literally, every wine that I tasted had singularity and complexity.  You can’t go wrong……
Here are the players, ladies and gents: