Vini Viti Vinci Bourgogne Coulanges la Vineuse is one of the lesser-known appellations of North Burgundy, This is a very original style of Burgundian Pinot - the fruit has a cranberry-like tartness and there are herbal notes of cinnamon and clove wafting at the edges. There are autumnal-feeling savoury notes, like piles of old leaves, but the main thing is the wine just bursts with energy and is a real thrill to drink. Finesse is high with this one, despite its initially unruly appearance. If you want to see the flipside to stuffy old-school Burgundy then look no further than Vini Viti Vinci.
NICOLAS VAUTHIER, VINI VITI VINCI, Avallon
Nicolas Vauthier started his wine career attending enology school and working at wineries in Washington State and France. He worked in wine retail in France, where he soon discovered Natural wines and they would become his real passion. He opened Aux Crieurs de Vins, a well-known wine bar / wine shop in Troyes. Aux Crieurs was one of the first natural wine bars in France, and its status is still legendary today. After working with Philippe Pacalet for some time he started making wines for himself in 2009, creating a micro “négoce” house in Avallon in northern Bourgogne.
Today he works only with the less popular appellations of Northern Bourgogne, including Chitry, Irancy and Epineuil, working with Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Aligoté. He buys organically grown grapes ‘a pied’, still on the vine, harvests them with his own pickers, and then, lets the wine make itself, intervening as little as possible. He works with partial carbonic maceration which helps to make his northern Burgundy wines fruitier and more delicious.
The reds are made entirely with whole bunches and carbonic maceration followed by brief elevage times for softening in barrels, like he learned while working with Pacalet. The results are extremely drinkable and delicious Pinot Noir.
The wines of Vini Viti Vinci are honest, direct, lively, crisp and sultry.