Behind the Label: L’Aigle et la Chouette

Our collaboration with Marc Soyard began when Josh spotted an article in the Dijon local press, Le Bien Public, in 2014 that said a natural winemaker clinched the city of Dijon’s winemaking contract. A year later, and much to our surprise, Marc called back and asked to swing by with samples of his first vintage. It was 90 degrees and muggy in our old offices that day, but the wines had the same clarity and energy we’ve found in every vintage since. 

Eight years after our first tasting, our partnership with Marc is one of our most valued. After Josh’s passing, Marc approached us to make homage cuvées for Josh. 

The first of these from Marc is a beautiful Gamay that pinotes (A Gamay that has Pinot Noir aromatics)—appropriately so, as this Gamay is from a plot in Flagey-Echezeaux in the Côte d’Or that borders the Grand Cru. It sees two weeks of strict carbonic maceration and a 7-month stayover in tank. After Josh’s first love, Burgundy, came a deep appreciation of Gamay, so this felt particularly appropriate. 

“Adler” means eagle in German, and Domaine de la Cras’ logo is the same as the city of Dijon, the owl, or the chouette. In designing this label, we broke Josh’s rule of “no animals on wine labels,” but I’d like to think he’d understand. At least we made it a family affair: Ryan’s sister, Yujin Lim, illustrated the birds, and my husband, Matthieu David, assisted on layout. 

Available in CA and NY, these are limited releases for now, but it’s particularly poignant for us to see this tribute in the market. 

— Francesca Hansen