Clos de Cimes - 'Les Petits Sylphes' - Field Blend - Southern Rhône, FR - 2022

A unique blend of eight (8) different varietals, including Grenache Blanc and Ugni Blanc, among others, with some vines over 50 years old. Hand-harvested followed by a combination of direct press for some varietals and skin-contact on others, it all undergoes spontaneous fermentation in stainless steel and no oak aging. This wine is a uniquely aromatic and complex twist on a skin-contact wine that expresses a lot of salinity, along with zesty stonefruit notes, while being underpinned with a gentle oxidative quality. It’s like a Jura Vin Jaune meets a Manzanilla Sherry.

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Based in the remote hilltop village of Merindol-les-Oliviers at 600 metres altitude, on the border of Drome-Provencal and Vaucluse, Elodie Aubert owns some of the highest vineyards in southern Rhone. She inherited Clos des Cimes in 2007, becoming the 6th generation of her family to farm the estate, which includes a variety of fruits, nuts and livestock. Her father converted the vines to organic farming back in 1994, but her approach is even more natural. Elodie trained in oenology and viticulture in Switzerland, where she learned more about altitude farming as well as adopting some biodynamic wine philosophies in the vineyard and in winemaking. This dedication to natural principles has led her to work with a wide range of grape varietals, many of which are not found anywhere in the region, but allow her to be creative and adapt to the unique microclimates on her mountainous vineyards. These wines are a unique expression of high elevation Rhône terroir.