The wines of Pierre Fenals and Maison En Belle Lies embody all the qualities of why we love to drink and sell wine. A transformative story of a mad scientist with meticulous attention to detail, respect for biodynamic farming, and no intervention in the cellar with an astounding outcome.Although Pierre's degree was in molecular biology, his first career took him to the runways of Paris. After a long professional life in the fashion industry, he became jaded and it was at this time that he happened to pick up a book by Rudolf Steiner (the Godfather of biodynamics), at a Parisian flea market. Things moved quickly after that: Pierre moved to Burgundy to study oenology, and then worked under Trapet, Lapierre, and Emmanuel Giboulot. In 2008, he bought his winery in St. Aubin and 2.5ha of vineyards in Maranges and Haute Côtes de Beaune. Since then he's added vineyards in Santenay, Monthelie, and Corton. In the cellar, it's what you'd expect from a natural winemaker, with a few of his own magical touches. Fermentation with only natural yeasts, no additives, no chaptalization, no fining/filtration, and zero sulfur. Pierre's wines have one characteristic that is uncommon for some natural wines; they are crystal clear. He achieves this naturally by slow and cold fermentations (averaging 2 years!), and adding dried crystalline solids from old barrels which aggregates the dissolved solids and sink to the bottom. He also puts in 18 drops of wine from a strong earlier vintage into the new juice to "inform" the wine of its potential. Adhering strongly to biodynamics, Pierre lets his red grapes macerate whole for one lunar cycle before pressing them, picking them during a rising moon and then pressing when it sets. He macerates whole bunches, never de-stemming his reds to increase the aromatic complexity of the wines.
Details
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Grape Variety
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Vintage
2022
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Size
750ml
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Farming Practice
Natural
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Style
Earthy , Fruity , Minerally
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Sweetness
Dry
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Body
Medium Bodied