Grapes: Pinot Noir (60%), Trousseau (20%), Pinot Gris (10%), and a mix of Aligoté, Gamay, and Chardonnay (that totals 10%)
Region: Saint-Aubin, Burgundy, France
Vintage: 2023
Viticulture: Organic + Biodynamic
Soils: Various (Limestone/Granite + Clay; Granite)
Yeasts: Native
Vinification: Whole bunches of grapes in an open tank with maceration for eight days
Aging: Used small barrels and tanks to ferment and rest for a year on the entire lees
Fining or Filtering: None
Sulfur: None
Notes from the Importer: "ISAAC - A wine for my son. It's a small cuvée mostly intended for personal consumption. I will continue to make an ISAAC blend until the vineyard I just planted comes into production, at which point the new vineyard will become this cuvée. I planted about 60% Pinot Noir, 20% Trousseau, 10% Pinot Gris, and 10% in total of Chardonnay, Savagnin, Aligoté and Gamay. I am excited to see what it gives."
Vin Noé is the micro-negociant project of Jonathan Purcell, a native Californian who has lived and worked in Burgundy since 2011. Jonathan has worked in the cellars of Philippe Pacalet, Domaine de Montille, and Domaine Matrot, finding time on nights and weekends to launch his own project. In 2016, Vin Noé debuted its first vintage, and as of 2021, is Jon’s full-time job.
Jon’s guiding principles are relatively straightforward: terroir-driven natural wines made without additives, fining, filtration, or mechanical pumps, from a set of small, organic parcels scattered across the Côte-de-Beaune, Côte Chalonnaise, and Beaujolais. In Saint-Aubin, Puligny, and Pommard, he leases a handful of parcels, and purchases grapes from growers further afield in Beaujolais and the Côte Chalonnaise. He takes an active role in farming all of the vines, and organic farming is non-negotiable.
These concepts might sound like that of thousands of other young vignerons working in France, but what separates Jon’s wines is the intentionality, work ethic, and self-reflection apparent in the final product. This is truly a one-man operation, and every decision is taken with the utmost care and thoughtfulness. Corners are never cut, and he has chosen a patient, if not painstaking approach to growing his production little by little each year. In 2021, Vin Noé moved from a 100-year-old cooperative cellar in Auxey-Duresses, to another historic cellar in the hamlet of Gamay, which is straddled by two of his newly leased Saint-Aubin parcels. Purcell continues to make wines of place that are just as joyful as they are cerebral.
