L’Alezan La Tangente

Winemaker: Patricia and Rémi Bonneton

Appellation: Ardèche, Rhône, France

Grape Varieties: Grenace Blanc, Viognier, Chardonnay

Patricia and Remi Bonneton are making some of the most exciting natural wines in the Rhône Valley!  Metonymia is a blend of Viognier, Marsanne, and Roussanne that was harvested at a friend's domaine in Gard (Languedoc) and brought to Remi and Patricia's domaine in northern Ardèche.  After pressing, the grape skins were left to macerate with the juice for 7 days.  From there, 70% of the resulting wine was aged in large oak barrels, while the other 30% was aged in fiberglass vats.  Neither sulfites nor additives were used at any stage of the winemaking process.  This wine gives us notes of apricots, white flowers, and even melon, and has a pleasant amount of tannin on the finish.  Food and wine pairings are a blast with this wine- you could pair this wine with cuisine from Thailand, India, Morocco, strong cheeses, sweet and savory dishes.

Patricia and Rémi Bonneton first started making their own wines in northern Ardèche in 2016 under the name L' Alézan. Before that, Rémi  was taking their horse (an Alézan, or chestnut colored horse) to help out in the vines with other natural winemakers in the region.  At the beginning, they only possessed 1.6 hectares (4 acres) of vines! In 2017, they were able to obtain two more hectares of vines. The majority of the vines, which consist of Marsanne, Roussanne, and Syrah, are located inside of the northern Rhône appellation of Saint-Joseph, but they opted to not join the appellation as they feel that the criteria for the appellation's wines are not strict enough. They also have been making some original wines using grapes purchased from natural winemaking friends in other regions, such as a Gamay and Cinsault blend, and a skin contact blend of Riesling, Sylvaner, and Pinot Blanc, among others.

No pesticides are used in their vines (this includes the vines they obtained in 2017), nor have they been for a very long time, if ever. No additives, including sulfites, are used during the winemaking process. We are very excited to bring in the wines of this very talented and wonderful couple.