Nicolas Pavie
Location: Beaujolais, France
Founded in 2015 by Nicolas Pavie
From curator Siôn Iorwerth:
"Introducing the Gamays of Nicolas Pavie. We were introduced to Nicolas thanks to a tip-off from his neighbors, Raphaël and Emélie, and a strong recommendation from his UK importer, Joel Wright of Wright's Wines. We’re excited to be offering a broad selection of Nicolas’s micro cuvées from his 1.8 hectares around Theize in the south of Beaujolais.
Nicolas Pavie with his grenilette.
Armed only with a grelinette, Nicolas fastidiously farms his three plots of land by himself, slowly turning the soil without disturbing the cover crops, allowing for the soil to fully express itself. Whilst yields are low, the payoff is a real intensity to the juice produced from the fruit. Throughout Nicolas’s vineyards, one can see the iconic 'Pierres Dorées' stones of the region, nestled amongst the clay-limestone and granite soils.
Nicolas uses the same winemaking approach for all of his wines. Each parcel is vinified separately, and the grapes are given three and a half weeks of maceration before a very slow overnight press in a manual antique basket press. He is incredibly patient with his élevage, allowing the wines to rest in large barrels for as long as two years until he deems them to be ready. Everything is bottled and corked by hand. The wines are given as long as possible in bottle prior to release, resulting in incredibly stable wines that open up wonderfully over the course of a few days. They are perhaps the most classic, albeit zero sulfur, wines we’ve imported so far. It’s no secret that Gamay is one of our favored varietals and we hope you enjoy exploring Nicolas’s deft renditions of the grape as much as we have."