St Aubin Le Ban Catherine et Dominique Derain 2018

St Aubin Le Ban Catherine et Dominique Derain 2018, biodynamic wine, Iconic pioneer of natural production in Burgundy, sublime richness and textured fruit, smooth palate, intensity, depth but beautiful elegant. The Le Ban 2018 from this Iconic small producer in the St Aubin appellation just south of Beaune is one for those who like more weight in their Pinot Noir. It opens with a huge blast of dark fruits, animal notes, stock, kirsch cherry and subtle spice. The palate is very soft, the abv at 14.5 is high for this appellation and indicated the heat and weight of the vintage but it is very well managed and weaves deftly into the rich fruits and body. Delicious, will age well for the medium term.

Some think of Dominique Derain as a non conformist, something of a loudmouth and the star of the Parisian Bistrots where he first sold his wines in the 1990s, (Between the Vines, Laroche, Henry, Annoni 2016) but he has done it all in his 40 years amongst the vines of the Cote-d'Or.

He started work as a cooper in the late 70s and then graduated to wine making with Henri Clerc in Puligny Montrachet. He then worked in Alsace for a time at Dietrich and was fired by Michel Laroche. Over the years, he has bought white wine from Beaujolais and sold it as Hospices de Beaune, he has chaptilised, added alicante bouchet to enrich the Pinot, made wine with no sulphur on the sly and won a gold medal for it and even made late harvest Remilly by mistake and refused to sell it to the Tour D'Argent. The guy has seen and done it all. He started experimenting with biodynamics in the 90s and worked closely with guys Giboulot, Montchovet, Lammerville and others. In his words, 'in the early years, natural wine had a bad reputation, but it was a way of working that interested me. My main aim is to experience pleasure, I don't want to make a stew'. Dominique now works exclusively biodynamically although he pulled out of Demeter certification in 97 when the cost doubled, he doesn't feel he has anything to prove to anyone. The proof is in the tasting. Wines are beautifully crafted, pure, very low in sulphites but completely stable. The St Aubin Le Ban, his first wine is a benchmark full bodied Pinot Noir which will delight all Burgundy lovers.