Estate Wines
Saint-Pourçain AOP Wines
We produce two Saint-Pourçain AOP (Protected Designation of Origin) wines for each colour, one simply called Saint-Pourçain and the other Barnabooth.
The distinction between the Saint-Pourçain and Barnabooth wines is the proportion of the blends as well as the ageing: the Barnabooth are aged in oak barrels while the Saint-Pourçain are aged in stainless steel tanks.
Why Barnabooth?
Archibald Olson Barnabooth is a character created by Valery Larbaud, a Bourbonnais writer whose property, Valbois, is located near the Clos de Breuilly.
Valery Larbaud is known for his personal literary work, as well as for having translated great British, Spanish and Portuguese authors into French. Most notably, he completely reworked the French translation of Ulysses with James Joyce himself.
In Larbaud’s works Barnabooth is a young and wealthy American from the South who travels across Europe aboard his luxurious personal wagon.
Because it evokes a certain idea of luxury, and to have the pleasure of talking about Valery Larbaud in our tastings, we have placed our gourmet Saint-Pourçain under the patronage of his Barnabooth.
Single Varietal Wines
We also produce three single varietal wines: Les Rocs, a Gamay cuvée from a single plot of vines, Les Grands Rangs, a Pinot noir aged for 18 months in oak barrels, and Tressallier, named after the endemic and emblematic grape variety of the appellation.
Bulles
Finally we produce our Bulles, a sparkling Brut Nature made using the “traditional method” (second fermentation in bottle, ageing on lees for one to three years, zero dosage). Our Bulles are a Blanc de Noirs, made from Gamay and Pinot noir.
Cerf Volant Wines
Ever since 2022, we have been producing the Cerf Volant cuvées: both white and red Saint-Pourçain wines are fruity, lively and cheerful.
The Cerf Volant are vinified and matured at the estate. The grapes come from the Domaine de la Fontaine near Saulcet, in conversion to organic farming.
Saint-Pourçain AOP Explained
The grape varieties currently included in the Saint-Pourçain appellation are:
- Gamay and Pinot noir for the reds,
- Chardonnay and Tressallier for the whites.
To benefit from the appellation, the wines need to be made from grapes harvested in a specific geographical area, and they also have to be blends.
The red Saint-Pourçain has to be a blend of Pinot noir and Gamay, and the white is a blend of Chardonnay and Tressallier. Proportions may vary within a certain range.
We also produce varietal wines which are therefore excluded from the appellation.