Pierre de Sisyphe 2022 - les Bories Jefferies
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Pierre de Sisyphe 2022 - les Bories Jefferies
Terret Blanc, Terret Gris, Ugni Blanc · Languedoc, France · 75cl
Pickup available at 3 Cornmarket Street
Usually ready in 2-4 days
Both varieties grow on the basalt and limestone that surround caux, growing predominantly in gobelet and a small portion trellised.
Sea Breeze saltiness on the nose, with minerals and lime leaf. Sinuous on the palate, with big mineral compression, this has a fleshiness of a ripe white peach on the palate. A beaming acidity keeps things fresh.
Wine writer Aaron Ayscough described this cuvée as a Grand Cru of the Hérault, with its intensity, depth, and complex structure.
The producer
Joe’s introduction to wine came via legendary vigneron Bernard Bellahsen, from whom Joe bought bread at a local market. When the opportunity to take charge of 3 hectares of vines from his father-in-law presented itself, encouragement from Bernard, along with Julien Peyras and Antony Tortul of la Sorga, emboldened Joe to accept.
He went back to study winemaking in Montpellier, and despite the guidance of his well-seasoned mentors, initially worked with an oenologist and made wines to ‘the Languedoc recipe’. Robust, bold, reds with big tannins and high alcohol conformed to the status quo, and whites that received filtration and generous sulfitage. Growing frustrated with his inability to find the unique terroir of Caux in his wines, and endless arguments with the oenologue on his books, Joe began to practice the methods of his early mentors, ceasing debourbage post press, filtration, sulfitage, and, scandalously, began vinifying the reds with carbonic maceration. In the vines, the work is far beyond the requirements of organic, and his treatments in the vines are minimal and preventative rather than responsive.
After 12 years, Joe’s wines have become definitive of the new Languedoc, utterly elegant and vital while retaining the Mediterranean soul and ripe fruit of southern France. They are remarkable wines that detail the breadth of possibilities one can uncover in the Languedoc.
The place
In the spirit of his mentors Bernhard Bellahsen and Antony Tortul, Joe showcases here the dynamism of these long overlooked varieties and their capacity for greatness on the right sites. Where lava once flowed from the Volcan de Beaume into limestone valleys, these hardened flows today form the hills on which Joe's vines grow, outlasting the limestone that is now dispersed in chunks around them as they grow. Referred to as a Grand Cru of the Hérault by wine writer Aaron Ayscough, this cuvée has a sinuous tension and luminous vitality that is deeply mediterranean, allowed to realise its potential through Joe's delicate work in the vineyard and cellar.
Grapes: Terret Blanc, Terret Gris, Ugni Blanc
Region: Caux, Languedoc, France
ABV: 13%