An unbelievably fragrant infusion of Cinsault that Paulette bottles the same year as harvest – a capsule of youthful fruit, freshness and purity Find out more.
About the Wine
En magnum!
Using the Sérine varietal, a lesser-known sibling of Syrah principally associated with some of the finest Côte-Rôtie, and riffing on the tradition in that fabled AOC of blending a little Viognier with the red grapes, Paulette has created a striking wine full of seductive perfume and elegant, soft edges.
The split is in fact 60% of Sérine to 40% of the white grapes, but the deep colour of the wine goes some way to show how much pigment is contained within these thick-skinned, tightly-clustered berries. Aromatically it is pure Syrah – briny black olive tapenade, spicy blackcurrant fruit – but on the palate the Viognier reveals itself in the more unexpected sensation of citrus peel, fennel, green olive and brings a silky fluidity. It is the harmony found between these two opposing dynamics on which the wine succeeds.
One of her négociant cuvees, the grapes come from an organic domaine in Sardan, Gard, planted over limestone-clay in a secluded pine forest. Macerated as whole bunches over 20 days with very little movement beyond keeping the cap submerged, it was slowly pressed off to a fiberglass cuve to rest for 9 months before bottling with no additions at any stage.
About Petite Nature
Pauline Maziou is the definition of the grassroots, artisanal winemaker. Paulette, as she is known to her friends, began her Petite Nature project in 2019 with just a half hectare of vines near the village of Quintenas in the north of the Ardèche and a production of around 2000 bottles. The wines were, and still are, made in a tiny cellar beneath her home, that is crammed full of tanks, barrels and various pieces of manual winemaking equipment. It is a cottage industry to say the least, but the wines that emerge from this unassuming space are nothing short of stunning.
Originally from this part of France, she returned to follow the path of winemaking after leaving a media job in the city in pursuit of a lifestyle more in touch with, and in respect of nature. She trained formally before a stretch learning on the job with Jean Delobre of La Ferme des Sept Lunes, as well as the more under-the-radar, but highly influential Daniel Sage; two names one might associate with some of the most expressive wines of the Northern Rhône.
Since then Pauline has slowly increased her output each year, although in the grand scheme production is still resolutely micro. She has planted a small parcel of vines dotted with saplings directly behind her home as part of her own experimental agroforestry project, and she rents some additional surface nearby, which she farms organically with complementary biodynamic treatments. In the cellar the approach is strictly zero-zero; spontaneous fermentations, no filtration and nothing added to the wine at any stage. They are raised patiently until they are ready to be bottled - a bold choice when one has so little to work with, but one that speaks of her commitment to making wine this way.
We were struck by the purity and elegance of Paulette’s wines. They posses a quality one could associate with the Northern Rhône, with the sort of perfume to the reds that can only be achieved from the region’s hot days and cool nights. The decomposed granite soils here lend the mineral imprint and tension reminiscent of some of our favourite Beaujolais, but ultimately there is a plush concentration of fruit and soft-edged texture that make them distinctively her own.
Until now Paulette has focussed on distributing the small amount of wine she has made directly to cavistes in France only, rather than exporting. So with that in mind, we feel very fortunate to be bringing these unique wines to the UK for the very first time.
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