Julien Prelat is a producer that has recently become an absolute favorite. His single vineyard, single varietal bottlings create a perfect balance between profundity, depth of fruit and the mineral-laden tension that all the best Champagnes possess. He seeks perfection in his wines, yet remains humble in realizing that his vineyards will provide for him.

Julien Prelat

"I am aware I am simply borrowing the lands I have inherited; I am faithful to this principle, cultivating my vines and developing my wines durably and sustainably. "- Julien Prelat

Such simple words yet filled with meaning, the inspired and talented Aube producer Julien Prelat's wines have clearly been imbued with this passion. The third generation of his family to tend the vines in Celles sur Ource, Julien and his wife Karine were the first of the Prelat surname to craft their own wines - the first vintage was 2010. Very much in the fashion of his friend Cedric Bouchard, Julien's vision is to not blend anything - one grape, one vineyard, one vintage.

Though he was born and raised in Champagne, it was in Julien's travels and education in Alsace & Beaujolais that largely informed his winemaking and embracing of a wealth of varietals. "I loved Burgundy in school," Julien admits, "But in Alsace I was impacted more by the grapes - Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Gewürztraminer - and wanted to find something between these two." Julien's early vintages, he sold as Vin Clair to a Maison, as Julien had no cellar, no winery left from his family. Within time, he began to accumulate enough equipment to bottle his own Champagne, starting with a humble 6000 bottles; today the Julien Prelat label will bear almost 30,000 bottles each year.

Julien's 7 hectares throughout the Aube have soils similar to what you'd see in Chablis - Kimmeridgian soils defined by the fossilized seashells throughout, all of which add a distinct minerality and pleasant salinity to the wines. As with a great Burgundy, the wines of the Aube broaden and become more vinous with air, and the same is true for Julien's wines. Presle may sound familiar as it is the same terroir as Cedric's wine of the same name, though Prelat's is entirely Chardonnay. La Lemblée consists of Pinot Blanc, and there is also a rare Pinot Gris called Les Côtes, from similarly-positioned terroirs to Presle. Les Vignes Basses is a Meunier-only cuvée, and two versions of Chantemerle are crafted - one a Blanc de Noirs, the other a Rosé, both of Pinot Noir. We are incredibly proud to bring to the market Julien's vintage wines - Les Reines (100% Chardonnay) and a Millesime, a tiny-production, barrel-fermented Pinot Noir.

Special attention should also be paid to the new wines of Karine Prelat, under whose label they have crafted three still wines from her family's vineyards in Riceys.

Viticulture & VInification

In the vineyard, Julien and Karine are ever-present, guiding the vines through each phase of the growing cycle. Only organic fertilizers are used, and the land is worked by hand, using small plows and tilling in between vines.

The wines are mostly vinified in stainless steel tanks to best control their temperatures, ensuring a more fine, complex wine. Beyond that, the elevage is done in the most natural way possible - the wines will age in fût de chêne, essentially Burgundy barrels, on their natural lees. The wines will be tasted throughout and sent to bottle for tirage when deemed ready.

In regards to the dosage for his wines, rarely will you see one with zero dosage - they do exist, but it is very much a crucial part of Julien & Karine's work to ensure the wine is framed perfectly, and if that means more or less sugar in the final wine, what's important is the taste and feel. "The number is not important," says Julien, "We taste 4-5 bottles blind, and will taste until it pops - 'Whoa! That's good!' - that's the feeling we want. Balance is most important, making it better and keeping freshness." There is no dogma, no rubric - just make good wine!

Mirella Buscemi may still be a relative newcomer to Etna’s storied terroirs, but her wines are already shining bright. A chemist in her past life, she was inspired by her Grandparents to move to Sicily and start making wine. Soon, through a matrimonial partnership with esteemed Etna winemaker Alberto Graci, Mirella began farming a 1.5 ha lot of 90-100+-year-old vines in the peripheral subzone (Contrada) of ‘Tartaraci,’ at an elevation of 1,000 meters above sea level, in the ancient village of Bronte. With her (and her husband's) expertise and centenarian bushvines at supremely high elevations, Mirella Buscemi is making some of the most profound wines in Etna.

Buscemi

The origins of Mirella Buscemi’s singular lot of land began in 1799 when British Admiral Horatio Nelson defeated the French in the Mediterranean and was honored with the title “The Duke of Bronte” by the Neapolitan King. He also inherited much vine-laden land on Mount Etna’s northwestern face.

The vineyards outside the titular village of Bronte, 1,000 meters above the azure Mediterranean, still retain the same mix of grapes as they did centuries ago: the Sicilian legacy grape Nerello Mascalese and Grenache, a remnant from the Spanish house of Bourbon, which ruled the region in the 18th century.

Today, Azienda Agricola Buscemi continues to honor these grapes, which produce wines of immense freshness in the volcanic soils at high elevations. Though the vineyards, in the subzone of “Tartaraci” lie outside of the famed Etna DOC, and thus the wines produced carry the humble “Sicilia Bianco” designation, the vineyard’s volcanic soils have long been prized for producing high-quality wines.

Winemaker Mirella Buscemi, originally from Syracuse, is a trained chemist who followed her heart to Sicily, inspired by her winemaker grandparents. She soon met Alberto Graci, a respected vigneron of Azienda Agricola Graci. As a wedding gift from her husband, Mirella received the historic vineyard of Tartaraci.

The Tartaraci vineyard is a contiguous, north-facing single-vineyard plot of just under four acres with 90+ year-old vines planted in alberello (aka little bush, or bushvine). Its north aspect allows for a long slow maturation of the fruit. Mirella tends her vines by hand, utilizing sustainable practices in the vineyard. The grapes for both red and white are de-stemmed. Red grapes are fermented in cement tanks, and whites in large old oak barrels. Production levels are miniscule, at only 2,000 bottles of white and 4,000 bottles of red wine.

Ghemme may not be as respected or visible in the wine world as its southern siblings, Barolo and Barbaresco. However, Tiziano Mazzoni, a biker, a rebel at heart, and a talented vigneron, is heralding the revival of this small, 32-hectare (84-acre) region. Though Tiziano may be inspired by Barolo, taking many trips south on his motorcycle, the Mazzoni wines display their distinct character, showcasing power and elegance in equal measure.

Mazzoni

The Mazzoni family has had a long history of winemaking in the small village of Ghemme. However, winemaking in the previous generations has not always been a financially stable option. In the 1960s, Tiziano’s grandfather left the vineyards to work in the factory, as many agricultural Italians did during the industrial age. Yet wine remained a vital staple in the Mazzoni family, and the siren call of the vineyard was just too tempting for Tiziano to ignore.

In his many bike trips to Langhe, Tiziano became acquainted with the style of Nebbiolo produced in the famed villages of Barolo and Barbaresco. Soon it was time for he explored the terroirs of his village of Ghemme.

In 1999, he purchased three acres of vineyard in Ghemme, a small portion of which was planted in the late 1960s—a symbolic bridge, in a sense, connecting his family’s leaving the land to his return to it. Today, Tiziano farms 11 acres in Ghemme, focusing on Nebbiolo and Vespolina, a native red grape with lively red fruit and floral aromas.

There’s no question that Tiziano and his wines set a new standard for Ghemme, a region that was named a DOCG in 1997. With just under 100 acres total, this northern appellation is certainly small!

What you’ll find in Ghemme—and above all with Mazzoni—is elegant and potent Nebbiolo, with an emphasis on red fruits and roses and supple and fine-grained tannins.

Mazzoni hand harvests and de-stemms all of his grapes, then ferments them on indigenous yeasts with long, slow macerations in stainless steel tanks. The family ages their two Ghemme DOCG wines in a combination of 500L old oak tonneaux and 1,500L French oak botti. Mazzoni wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered.