Domaine Saint-Cyr
About
Raphael also immediately began converting his domain to organics, after watching both his grandfather and uncle get sick from exposure to the agricultural chemicals that defined much of post-war French viticulture. Today, Domaine Saint Cyr is one of the largest organic domaines in the Beaujolais - 23 hectares without any synthetics. Additionally, Raphael has been quick to question the dependence on mechanization of his neighbors, and since 2020 has been plowing all his own vines with two Comtois draft horses named Samba and El Suegno.
Raphael himself is a memorable figure - easily the largest Frenchman that our team has seen – imagine a Gallic ex-rugby player and then double him. He’s incredibly mirthful and quick to learn, with an indefatigable energy to adapt and grow his winemaking and stewardship of the domaine. This dedication to terroir is joined by a confident hand in the cellar – sulfur levels are light to non-existent, with many cuvees seeing no additions at all.
Unlike similarly successful Beaujolais vignerons, Raphael’s red wines never lose sight of pure pleasure and an essential thirst-quenching nature. Beginning in 2017, Raphael began to experiment with cold carbonic fermentation and shorter aging for a cru Beaujolais with the single-vineyard Chénas Les Journets. Following the successful reception of this wine, all of the red wines today are vinified using cold carbonic fermentation since 2019. They are, frankly, the kind of Beaujolais that made everyone get excited about beaujolais, pure joy bombs that will undoubtedly be drained first on any table.
Raphael’s whites, however, are a different story. One gets the sense that here, in the Pierre Dorées (the poetically named “Golden Stones,”) that Raphael feels comfortable stretching his creative muscles. Marked by limestone-driven soils – a marked contrast to the granitic crus – the region has much more in common with the Jura and Burgundy than it does with, say, Morgon or Moulin-a-Vent. Raph has figured this out (with the help over the last few years of some pretty mighty friends like Julien Guillot and Jean-François Ganevat). As a result of some trial and error with this terroir, now we’re seeing new, exceptional white wines from Saint-Cyr—from estate vineyards beautifully farmed, no less. The best cuvees, marked by substantial elevage, are built for the long haul and absolutely outperform their humble Beaujolais blanc status – Raphael refuses to label any of them as Bourgogne Blanc to highlight the uniqueness of his terroir. Overall, these are wines of tremendous poise and depth that absolutely complicate the red-wine primacy of Beaujolais, and provide an interesting insight into the region's future.
Products
Beaujolais La Galoche
Certified Organic, biodynamic practices. From a 15 hectare plot of 25 year old vines that sit on clay-limestone soils. Hand-harvested and destemmed. A carbonic maceration using native yeasts for 15 days and alcoholic fermentation for 20 days, followed by 6 months aging in concrete tanks. No sulfur added.
Gamay Rose Pet Nat
Organic. 100% Gamay. Sourced entirely from a 8 hectare parcel in Anse, the vines are between 20 - 40 years old grown on clay and limestone soils. Direct press, cold settling. Fermentation started using native yeast in stainless steel and lasts around 1 month before bottling at low brix to capture remaining CO2 and create bubbles. No additives of any kind including SO2. Disgorged in December 2021 (disgorged after roughly three months in bottle). Approx. 830 cs produced.
Beaujolais Terroir de Bellevue
Certified Organic. 100% Gamay. Sourced from a lieu-dit “Bellevue” in Anse. The vines were planted between 1950 and 1960 and grown on clay and limestone soils facing south-east exposure. The wine is lively and complex with great concentration. Hand-harvested and destemmed. Semi-carbonic maceration using native yeasts for 15 days, followed tank aging for 6 months.
Chenas Les Blemonts
Certified Organic. 100% Gamay. Chénas has historically been an overlooked appellation in Beaujolais, but Raphael Saint Cyr intends to help change that. The Les Blémonts vineyard is located in the center Chénas. Raphael purchased this vineyard at the same time as his friend Paul-Henri Thillardon bought the neighboring parcel, so together they have a nearly five-hectare contiguous block of organically farmed vines. This 3.5ha parcel that Raphael has is planted on granite soil, especially white granite with sand and silex interspersed. The vines are 55 years old; gobelet pruned with southern exposition, 180msl. Cold carbonic maceration (cold, whole grapes in concrete vats saturated with carbon dioxide) was employed during the spontaneous ferment, with élevage taking place in neutral barrels for ten months. Small amounts of SO2 added just before bottling; unfined/unfiltered.
Beaujolais Blanc La Galoche
Certified Organic, biodynamic practices. From a 12-ha plot within the Pierres Dorées, the subregion in southern Beaujolais famous for its limestone (think Chablis-level limestone) soils. 25 year-old vines. Grapes are directly pressed, spontaneously fermented, and the wine goes through complete malolactic fermentation. The wine is then aged in stainless steel tanks for 4 months. Minimal sulfites are added at bottling.
Beaujolais Blanc Terroir de la Chassagne
Biodynamic. 100% Chardonnay. Raphaël is particularly proud of this single-vineyard bottling of old vines, drawn from this aptly named, .5ha Chardonnay vineyard between the winery and the now-famous La Galoche stream, planted in the 1950s. It’s legal to label Chardonnay from this region as Bourgogne Blanc, but Raph is firmly committed to the Beaujolais Blanc appellation—and rightly so; this wine is a testament to the importance of this terroir. The vineyard is on clay-limestone, with calcareous marl subsoils; it undergoes spontaneous ferment in neutral barrels and demi-muids; afterward it is aged at least two years in barrel on full lees to allow the wine to reach its fullest expression. One year of bottle age, depending on vintage, thereafter. Unfined, unfiltered, zero added SO2.
Sauvignon Blanc 'Sauvage'
Biodynamic. 100% Sauvignon Blanc. Taken from a young-vines, 15 year-old parcel on clay-limestone in the chalky, limestone-driven Pierres Dorées region of Beaujolais where Domaine St-Cyr is located. One feels the references to some of the other great Sauvignon Blancs of France, particularly the best crus in Sancerre when done in barrel; this wine is a reminder that yeasted, filtered, pink grapefruit Sauvignon Blanc is not how the variety should be known. Direct press, fermented in neutral barrels, raised in the same on full lees for 24 months. Unfined, unfiltered, zero SO2.
Aligote 'Alien'
Biodynamic. 100% Aligoté from a single-vineyard parcel of 90 year-old vines. Deep clay soils. Direct press, fermented in neutral 228 and 300L barrels. Élevage in barrel on full lees for 24 months. Unfined, unfiltered, zero SO2. 2000 btls total. One of the most surprising and exciting Aligoté made closer to the Rhône than it is to the Côte d'Or.
Morgon Les Charmes
Certified Organic, biodynamic practices. 100% Gamay. This bottling is drawn exclusively from 'Les Charmes' vineyard, a classified Cru of the Morgon AOP, on white granite and red schist soils, with a northeast exposure. Vines 60 years of age. Cold carbonic maceration for 18 days; alcoholic fermentation with native yeast beginning around ten days; natural malolactic fermentation. 75% is aged in old oak barrels for 10 months; the rest is in concrete tank. Unfined and unfiltered, minimal SO2 added at bottling.
'Melo' VdF Rouge (Gamay/Pinot/Chard)
Certified Organic, biodynamic practices. 1/3 each Pinot Noir, Gamay, and Chardonnay. Limestone soil w/clay. 40 year old vines. Manual selection, layering of the 3 grape varieties in the tank (a “layer cake” technique learned from Julien Guillot). Cold carbonic maceration (cold, whole grapes in concrete tank saturated with carbon dioxide) for an average of 15 days, including 8 days of pre-fermentation. Alcoholic fermentation with indigenous yeasts. Manual pressing with a vertical wooden press. Malolactic fermentation. Aging 33% in old barrels for 6 months and 66% in concrete vats.
Beaujolais Rose La Galoche
Certified Organic, biodynamic practices. 100% Gamay. After harvest, the grapes are directly pressed. The grapes are fermented with indigenous yeasts, and the wine goes through complete malolactic fermentation. The wine is then aged in stainless steel tanks for 4 months. Some sulfites are added at bottling.
Chenas Robert
Certified Organic, biodynamic practices. 100% Gamay.Blend of 3 “classé cru” parcels in Chénas AOP on Alluvial, granite, sand, and slate soils. Cold carbonicmaceration for 18 days; alcoholic fermentation with native yeast beginning on day 15; natural malolactic fermentation. Half the wine is aged in old oak barrels for 10 months. Minimal sulfites added at bottling, unfined and unfiltered.
