"Following Benoit down into his cellar, you can sense his thoughtfulness. Everything seems intentional - everything has a place and you sense the earthen tones travel through the barrel halls where the barrels are stacked in threes: "The triangle is the perfect shape," he explains, "And the wines only like to be a certain distance from the floor, and I need them to be happy!"

Marguet

His energy is infectious; there isn't a wasted movement, and the few workers you see throughout are equally energetic. There's a pulse to this place, and it quickly begins to course through you as well. But the best part is the wines.

Benoit was born into a winegrowing family who had some incredible holdings, principally in Ambonnay. In fact, their vineyards provided the backbone for Krug's Grande Cuvee for a great many years. It was in 2005 that Benoit started to seize the reins of the estate, and by 2008 had ended the leases of his family's land, and started to produce under the Marguet name.What made the land so special - including a family parcel that was the original Clos d'Ambonnay - was not only placement, but also the fact that no chemicals were ever used, and never were any mechanical devices used for plowing or harvesting. To this day, Benoit uses his two horses, Belle and Urban, to plow the vines. When Benoit took over, he made the choice to convert to biodynamics; honestly, you can tell he is not dogmatic, but is very spiritual, in that he is full of spirit and can sense that of others, extending to his vines. To this end, when as he shares vineyard boundaries with other producers, he will sell off even multiple rows of his own fruit so as not to blend anyone else's spirit (or methods) into his wines.

In the winery, juice flows solely by gravity - from the press, which is at an incredible 15' height, into tank, then into barrels. The barrels are from carefully selected staves, and as is his eye for detail, the staves will all align so that the root ends are on one side of the barrel, the leaf ends at another. Truly, nothing in this winery is without thought.

Benoit created a few different lines of cuvées with which to express his style: the Shaman and Yuman wines are expressions of the freshest of juice, without any sulfur added, and bottled at lower pressure; the white label "village" wines are expressions of the villages of Champagne, largely from purchased fruit but from vineyards where he controls the farming. Finally, the Crus are his family's historical vineyards, each a wildly different expression of their own terroir, and incredibly ageworthy.

Shaman is always of a single vintage, albeit not technically a "vintage" wine as it stays on the lees for a short period of time - about 18 months. "I couldn't stop pouring it by the glass while I hoarded the other cuvées," Courtney says. These are full of character and fresh fruit, free of sulfur and delicious values. Yuman follows the same protocol, but of entirely Chardonnay where Shaman uses predominantly black grapes. Bouzy and Ambonnay Rosé are white label wines, coming from incredible vineyards in Pinot Noir-dominant land, and are stunning examples of what feels like sparkling Burgundy.

As far as the Crus - stay with me here. Les Bermonts is wild, a Chardonnay but from Ambonnay that is in my mind always associated with lemon curd: soft, sensual, long and saline; divine. Les Crayeres was the first cru released by Benoit in 2008, and is perhaps the most sought-after of his crus. Chalky, saline, wildly floral and reductive like a great Meursault, it's got power, subtlety, everything you ever want in a great bottle of wine. Les Beurys comes from 39 ares (0.39 ha) in Ambonnay, about 75% Chardonnay and the rest Pinot Noir, expressive more in the floral tones and beautifully textural. Le Parc comes from the aforementioned original Clos d'Ambonnay, and often is only bottled in large format. Possibly the most ageworthy, as it shares terroir with Krug's Clos (like about 6 feet of clay above chalk), there are already ample orchard fruits and a solid mineral streak throughout. Oh - it's entirely Chardonnay. Wild.

A special word about Sapience - the project was conjured by likeminded individuals and completed in Marguet's winery with the help of Herve Jestin. Utilizing the three dominant grapes of Champagne from biodynamic producers - Chardonnay from David Leclepart, Pinot Noir from Benoit Lahaye (and later from Marguet), and Pinot Meunier from Vincent Laval, a super-cuvée was created first in the 2006 vintage. Marguet's spirit watches over the bottling, which occurs some 9 years from the harvest. It is a labor of love, and is not a wine for all - it is a wine to ponder, to embrace, and to spend time with, to watch evolve, as the producers involved largely crafted this wine by virtue of decades of dedication to farming.

The late Dominique Belluard was a humble master of the Gringet (grahn-ZHAY) grape, a varietal which he quickly discovered was almost extinct outside of his family's land. Through his own vine nursery he created the largest selection of the grape perhaps in the world, and successfully made several monovarietal wines from the grape.

Domaine Dominique Belluard

Dominique's work carries on posthumously in the form of Domaine du Gringet

Sadly, we lost the great Dominique during the pandemic, bringing an unfortunate close to nearly 35 years at the helm of his family's estate. When he took over in 1988, the domaine was not entirely focused on grapes, with various crops and some dairy cows all part of the equation. Ever the student, Dominique chose to focus on the vines exclusively, and in particular in a native variety called Gringet.

As so many similarly thoughtful winemakers have done, Dominique chose to elevate the health of his vineyard with a focus on biodynamic methods; despite the cold (and close proximity to the Mont Blanc), he kept his vines trained close to the ground to grasp every last degree of warmth they could, despite the risk of mildew. The iron-rich soils absorbed a good amount of heat from the sun when it appeared, and his wines show ample ripeness.

Gringet, the grape that makes up nearly the entirety of his family land is unique - picture it somewhere between Sauvignon Blanc - the brightness, the green streak and tendency to produce honeyed flavors when ripe - and Chenin Blanc - the textural character, the way it shows lees-y flavors easily, and a bit of that lanolin hint. The structure is such that it should age well, particularly given the incredible attention to vineyard health, and some older examples show similar qualities to aged Chablis.

Perhaps what drew attention to the Belluard wines were the fine sparkling wines he crafted from 100% Gringet in the Champagne method. The wines spend about 2 years on the lees and have more than ample body, texture and expression. The still wines show both freshness and structure to age, and are generally made in vessels designed to suspend the lees so that batonnage is not needed, while the wines display the same texture as though batonnage had been performed, without tasting overtly of yeast.

It seems the domaine will stay in the family, with a new winemaker brought on who grasps the importance of tradition and carrying on the legacy; as such, the future bottlings will bear the name of Belluard's love child: Domaine de Gringet.

With two years on the lees, the Ayze Les Perles du Mont Blanc (2018) is reminiscent of fine Champagnes but with Gringet's trademark green streak, spice and citrus flavors. Monsieur Gringet is as texturally gripping as a top Chablis, with crystalline minerality and length to the finish. The 2020 Eponyme, a wine that was finished by Jean-Francois Ganevat, a close friend of the family, is entirely Gringet, a slightly riper wine, showcasing white fruits, pears and a delightful salty mineral touch. Les Alpes showcases the brilliant freshness of Gringet, with dried apricot, lime zest and a fleshier palate.

Pian dell'Orino, a small artisan wine estate in Montalcino, is a shining star in Tuscany. One may attribute their rise to their proximity to Biondi-Santi, the icon of Brunello wineries. Location aside, co-owners Caroline Pobitzer and Jan Hendrick Erbach are passionate about producing the highest quality wines utilizing the most harmonious methods to protect their environment. This dual devotion to quality and harmony in the vineyard and to the winery implies biodynamic practices (Pian del'Orino was one of the first estates in Montalcino to be certified biodynamic), low yields, meticulous selection of the healthiest bunches, and a gentle, caring approach in the winery, eschewing the use of modern cellar techniques or unnecessary extraction. Jan and Caroline, though not natives of Tuscany, care immensely for its terroir, and each wine from Pian del'Orino reflects this devotion.

Pian dell'Orino

Caroline is from Alto Adige. Jan is German. In 1997, Caroline purchased the farmhouse outside Montalcino, now their home. At that time, the European Union was incentivizing investment in rural properties, allowing the planting of new vineyards. She took advantage. Not long after purchasing the property, Caroline met Jan. In a few short years, the couple was able to harness his understanding of botany and enthusiasm for biodynamic agriculture to begin a singular, remarkable estate.

Caroline and Jan planted their first vines in 1998. Three years later, the first wines were made. In 2006, the couple constructed an impressive cellar near their home in a shape keeping with biodynamic principles.

The farm is divided into four parcels. The land closest to the house and cellar is the source of Sangiovese grapes that become Piandellorino IGT. It's an entry-level bottling and a great introduction to the winery's elegant style. The farm's other parcels (including Vigneti di Versante and Bassolino di Sopra, source vineyards for the Brunellos) are farther from the cellar. Pian dell' Orino covers 5.5 hectares of vineyard and 3.5ha of forest. The couple also has some olive trees, and Jan is very enthusiastic about planting fruit trees to improve biodiversity.

Jan follows the lunar calendar for pruning. In keeping with biodynamics, they make big pots of nettle and chamomile tea to spray on the vineyards, mixed in solution with bentonite clay. These treatments increase the density of positive microorganisms in the fields, which is essential to fight against microbial life forms that are detrimental to the vine.

"The mechanization/compaction of the soil weakens the auto-defense systems of the vine." Jan is taking remarkable action to counteract this compaction. He is planting a new site with a goblet/alberello vine training system that aims to restore harmony to the fields. "Etruscans found vines in the woods," he states. "They didn't just bring the vines (to the fields); they also brought the trees." By planting maple trees next to his new vines, Jan hopes to restore the symbiotic relationship between vine and tree that the Etruscans established. Once they are tall, the trees should provide shade that will beneficially lower yields in the vineyard and reduce the potential for scorching and over-ripeness.

In the winery, the processes are no less meticulous (in some way reflecting the Germanic origins of both Jan and Caroline); aside from lower yield picking and sorting in the vineyards, the grapes further go through optical sorting (one of the more modern tools used, yet still necessary) and hand sorting. All of this ensures the highest quality and elegance of the wines from the healthiest grapes. The cellar room is kept precisely at 90% humidity and ambient temperature control. The wines are spontaneously fermented using indigenous yeast and aged in large 10-50 hl Botti for 1-5 years before bottling.