Type

Red Wine

Appellation

Vin de France

Variety

100% Gamay

'Sauvage' is quite simply a tour de force argument for everything that is great about Baptiste Nayrand: Gamay, old vines, natural winemaking, and the Coteaux du Lyonnais. Coming from very old goblet vines in Millery, this wine has the finesse and juiciness of Gamay, marked by an intense and savory backbone. Baptiste allows this parcel to go nearly wild - hence the name 'Sauvage.' The grass isn't plowed, and the shoots aren't trellissed / are allowed to grow long. The result is one of the most inspiring and unique wines produced in France today.

Viticulture

Vineyard name

Freydiere (Millery)

Soil type

Glacial Till (round galets with clay)

Vine age1940s

Vineyard size0.5 ha

PruningGoblet

ExpositionSouth

Altitude150 m

Vinification

All of the reds are made with whole cluster and native yeast fermentation with no added sulfur, but the rest of the vinification changes based on Nayrand's intuitive feeling at each harvest to make the best wine possible from that year's grapes. 'Sauvage' is pressed with a small vertical basket press and typically vinified with a carbonic maceration.

Elevage6-10 months in new, untoasted oak barrels

Harvest typeHand Harvested

Fining/FilteringUnfined, Tangential filtration only when necessary, 1 g SO2 added at bottling only when needed

Additional info

Total production average3000 bottles

UPC Code Bottle046139084481

More about
the producer

Baptiste Nayrand

Founded in 2014

6 hectares

Originally from the area around Lyon, Baptiste Nayrand created his eponymous domaine from scratch in 2014. Today he has just over six hectares of vines, which is the maximum he can farm by himself to maintain the quality he requires. The majority of vineyards are dedicated to Gamay in the AOP Coteaux du Lyonnais, a small, rather unknown appellation on the outskirts of Lyon, located between the Beaujolais and the Northern Rhône. There is also a small amount of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Aligoté permitted in the AOP Coteaux du Lyonnais.

These wines have a similar excitement and energy found in the most legendary natural wine producers in France. Cognizant of the natural wine movement for many years as a wine drinker, Baptiste created his estate with a drive to produce exce...