Domaine Éric Forest (Biodynamic)

The Forest family has been making wine in the Maconnais region for 8 generations.  However, André (Eric Forest’s grandfather), was the first of his family to dedicate himself to producing wine exclusively, and it was through him that Eric learned about winemaking and biodynamics.  Eric also studied enology and worked in the Yakima Valley in 1996, as well as working two years with Jean-Marie Guffens.  In 1999, Eric took over management of the estate and eventually expanded the size of the domaine to 8.9 hectares.

Eric cultivates vines on some of the finest terroirs in Vergisson, as well as a plot on the heights of Davayé.  He produces five exclusive vintages of Pouilly-Fuissé, Saint-Véran, and Macon-Vergisson on plots of vines planted between 1930 and 1979.  Everything is manually done on the estate, and he uses organic and biodynamic methods in the vineyards, but is not certified.  The plants are pruned in a manner to allow for the vines to have ample ventilation, thus minimizing the need to use phytosanitary products.  Eric combats any other plant species with an environmental approach by carrying out extra plowing to sustain the soil and to encourage the roots to absorb the rich qualities held within the terroir.

The winemaking process begins with a manual harvest followed by very gentle pressing.  The wine stands on its lees for 10-15 months inside oak barrels with reduced doses of sulfites.  The wine is then bottled by hand using gravity and often unfiltered.  As a passionate winemaker, Eric brings the utmost care and attention to all stages of the winemaking process, a personal commitment to deliver the high standards representative of his terroir.

Location: The Bourgogne Blanc is produced from a 0.20-hectare plot of vines planted in 2017 in Vergisson on the edge of the Pouilly-Fuissé appellation.

Terroir: The terroir begins at the bottom with beautiful blue marls and ends at the top with decomposed granite. The microclimate and the rather cool exposure, as well as the youth of the vines make a wine which lacks a little richness and structure. This is why Forest blends his Pouilly-Fuissé end-of-press wines, which have more volume and higher pH, with this vintage.

Grape Variety: Chardonnay

Vinification: 50% vinified in barrels and 50% in vats to maintain freshness and finesse.

Overview: This 1.5-hectare geological unit of which Forest has the Monopole is planted with Chardonnay and produces very great, rich, and vibrant wines.

Average Age of the Vines: Almost a century old for the most part.

Exposure: South

Soil: Clay and colored marl on the outcropping limestone rock.

Grape Variety: Chardonnay

Terroir: l’Âme Forest is a blend of four cooler terroirs: the marls of “La Côte” give powerful, mineral structure as well as length on the finish, while the clay-limestone of the “Tilliers” and “Le Bois Rosier” bring finesse with notes of citrus and stone fruit.  As for the old Carmentrants vines, they add richness and depth.  The soul of this cuvée is born from a perfect balance of these plots planted by André (Eric’s grandfather), cultivated by Michel (his father), and taken over by Eric in 1999.

Vinification: The grapes are pressed very gently and over long periods of time, without crushing, and then fermented in cask on native yeast with much of the lees.

Aging: The wine is matured over two winters before bottling without filtration and with very little sulfur.

Tasting Notes: Born from the coolest areas of Vergisson, l’Ame Forest is a great way to discover the estate’s style.  It is balanced, intense in energy, and very fresh on the palate.

Alcohol: 13%

Terroir: “Les Crays” is a terroir of limestone scree on blue Pliensbachian marl.  This south-facing slope of the Vergisson rock, very bright and protected from the cool north wind, produces fatty wines with chiseled minerality and rich citrus aromas.

Production Area: 2.16 hectares

Age of the Vines: This cuvée is harvested from several plots planted between 1930 and 1966.

Vinification: The grapes are pressed very gently and over long periods of time, without crushing, and then fermented in cask on native yeast with much of the lees.

Aging: The wine is matured over two winters before bottling without filtration and with very little sulfur.

Alcohol: 13.5%

First Planting: 1930s

Grape Variety: Chardonnay

Harvest: End of September

Vinification: Fermented in fût and amphora

Alcohol: 15.42%

Notes: This micro cuvée is a blend of the best 3 or 4 barrels from Forest’s cellar. It is not produced for every vintage.

Location: Forest lovingly extract this cuvee from the most beautiful terroirs in Vergisson.  1/3 from La Roche plot and 2/3 from Les Crays plot.

Grape Variety: Chardonnay

Alcohol: 13.5%

Tasting Notes: 99.9% pure, this cuvee harmoniously reflects the power of the clay, the brilliance of the limestone, and the voluptuousness of Chardonnay.

Overview: The severe frosts of April 2021 destroyed the majority of the vine buds. The very small harvest led Eric Forest to blend his two different plots of Saint-Véran to produce an exceptional Saint-Véran “Cuvée Unique”.

Appellation: Saint-Véran

Grape Variety: Chardonnay

Alcohol: 13%

Plots: Cuvée Unique is produced from 2 separate Saint-Véran plots:

Terre Noire –
Surface Area: 0.5 hectares in the town of Davayé
Average Age of the Vines: 80 years old. These old vines produce very small, thick-skinned grapes which give character and density to the wine.
Terroir: Terre Noire is a very great terroir for Chardonnay. Slightly sloping facing south, it is composed of 60-80 cm of brown clay on the surface on a very stony subsoil of white limestone with “entroque” or marine fossils.

La Côte Rôtie –
Surface Area: 0.5 hectares in the town of Davayé
Average Age of the Vines: Planted in 1979, over 40 years old.
Terroir: “La Côte Rôtie” is the name registered in the 19th century of a very steep limestone hillside facing south at the bottom of the valley. It is a sun-burnt oven where Forest harvests very ripe Chardonnay. The wines from this microclimate are very rich and bold with a “gastronomic” power.

Yield: 9 hl/ha

Harvest: Manual harvest into 50 kg boxes

Vinification: Soft and slow pressing, in bunches crushed by gravity. Vinification with natural yeasts in 3 barrels of 300 liters.

Aging: 12 months in barrels without racking and without stirring. Bottling by gravity without filtration or fining.

Overview: For his 20th vintage, Eric Forest had the opportunity to bring an old dream to reality: to create an ultra-confidential and absolutely superb Petite Arvine which comes from the most famous terroir in Valais Switzerland, Fully. To understand the origin of this passion for Petite Arvine, one has to go back in time – Eric’s father used to fill the family wine cellar with beautiful Swiss bottles selected by friends from Valais, where the Forest family often went on vacation. From adolescence, Eric familiarized himself with these whites, dry and sweet, and learned to love them for their complexity and many nuances.
In 2017, while on a tour with a Swiss importer, Eric met Pierre-Antoine Crettemand (meticulous winegrower in Saillon and owner of vines in Fully) whose family has been making wine for generations. Eric did not hesitate long before deciding to take the plunge and come to make wine by his side.

The Vines: The Fully Les Raffos is produced from old massal selections of Petite Arvine grown organically by Pierre-Antoine.  The latter of course brings his intimate knowledge of the terroir and the vine, while Eric brings to the steep slopes of Fully a Burgundian spirit that is clearly found in the wine.

Vinification: Eric selects the optimal harvest date for the grapes. The vinification process starts with the extreme precision of Eric’s fractional pressings, for which he retains here only the press media, the purest juices that he vinifies without débourbage.

Aging: Eric follows the fermentation and aging by phone and goes to the winery himself every 3 months.  The wine is aged in a small wine cave dug into the rock just below the Chateau de Fully.  He uses the barrels of his Pouilly-Fuissé Les Crays which he brings from Vergisson, barrels already inoculated with the indigenous yeasts of Vergisson. After a year in barrels, the aging is extended for another 6 months on fine lees in stainless steel vats. Finally he carries out the bottling by gravity without filtration or fining.

Tasting Notes: The Petite Arvine Fully-Les Raffos is masterful in its refinement and balance.  It is airy on the nose; one perceives notes of wildflowers and wild mountain herbs.  Allowed to breathe, the sensual dimension of the wine asserts itself, with intertwined notes of grape jelly, poached peach or pear, and baked apple, suffused with many spices with Asian accents, between cumin, candied ginger, nutmeg and incense.  On the palate, it is both generous, textured, and perfectly defined.  Notes of pineapple, caramelized pear, and marmelade, enhanced by a touch of pepper.  Fine bitterness reminiscent of green pepper, picholine olive, and cardamom tickle the taste buds on the finish.  A full and expressive finish, with good length.

Alcohol: 13.5%

Chardonnay