A Season for Old Vines
Dear Member,
Many of the vines that birthed the six bottles before you have seen more than one French Republic rise and fall. In that time, fashions have gone from boom to bust, and countless summers have given way to fall.
Longtime members know that old vines—30 years and older—are a rarity. Being in the business of wine often means catering to the whims of the market, which leads to ripping out and replanting every couple of decades.
But for the winemaker willing to adopt a multi-generational time horizon, rather than one limited to his own career, there are rewards in, say, an 80-year-old vine. We value these wines at the Partnership not only for what they produce—concentrated, deep, lingering—but for what they reveal about the winemaker himself. This is not a mass-market concern, but an expression of time, place, and history.
In other words, old-vine wine is a kind of living artwork: something to be considered, to spark thought or conversation. The bottles we’ve sourced for this year’s French Collection are precisely that kind of wine.
Why Fall?
And what better season for them than fall—the season of thought, of reminiscence, of plans for the days ahead, of hopes for what might be, and warm affection for what was.
Of course, one need not reflect alone. While perfect for a quiet moment at the end of the day, these bottles are equally at home at the dinner table. They will be an excellent accompaniment to any gathering—or Thanksgiving patter—and will émerveille your guests and family as surely as they spark internal dialogue.
In This Box
You will find six bottles:
Domaine des Florets, Alliance 2022
Champagne Allouchery DeGuerne, Premier Cru Sélection
Domaine de Noiré, Caractère 2018
Château Romanin, Grand Vin Rouge 2018
Château Tasta, T de Tasta 2019
Domaine des Deux Fontaines, Fleurie La Presle 2022
These wines run from the northernmost French terroirs—Champagne and Beaujolais—down through the Rhône Valley, with a detour along the banks of the Dordogne in Bordeaux, and on to the old mountain caves of Provence.
In the course of sourcing this collection, I heard—on good authority—that people have been living in those caves for eight thousand years. Perhaps 80 years isn’t so old after all.
Santé,
Will Bonner
Founder, Bonner Private Wine Partnership
