Phelan Farm Autrement 2023
50.13₣ (Exc. VAT bot. 75 cl.) / Switzerland
Features
Type of wine
Pairings
Style
Occasions
Winery
Size
Country
Region
Appellation
Alcohol
12.0%
Grapes
Serving
Between 14ºC and 16ºC
Winemaking
Fermented with indigenous yeasts and stems in stainless steel tanks. Aged for 9 months in neutral toasted oak barrels. Bottled unfined, unfiltered and with no added sulphites.
Description
On the rugged, misty coast of San Luis Obispo, California, just a stone's throw from the Pacific, Rajat Parr embarked on an adventure that few dare to imagine: returning California viticulture to its purest roots, moving away from the homogeneity of the market and embracing biodiversity, craftsmanship and intuition. Thus was born Phelan Farm, a deeply personal project that flirts with the wild, where each cuvée is an emotional extension of its landscape.
Autrement, which is French for "otherwise", is both a wine and a declaration of principles. Parr makes Phelan Farm Autrement from Pinot Noir, Gamay Noir and Mondeuse vines, but not in the Bordeaux or Burgundy style, but with a radically different approach, focusing on the expression of place rather than variety. The soils here are a combination of shale, limestone and fossilised marine silt - living, ancient soils, fragmented by centuries of tectonic movements - which give the wine an almost umbilical saline depth. The climate, influenced by cold ocean currents, offers mild days and abruptly cool nights, preserving acidity and slowing ripening, a blessing for those seeking elegance over exuberance.
In Parr's own words: "You have to let the vineyard think for itself. We're just here to listen A phrase that sums up his decision to work without irrigation, without herbicides, without pesticides, without added yeasts... and almost without rules.
Winemaking
The grapes are harvested by hand, in small boxes, at dawn, looking for that perfect balance between freshness and phenolic ripeness. The grapes, without being completely destemmed, are placed in whole vats and undergo spontaneous fermentation in open tanks, without temperature control. The pace is set by the fruit, not by technology.
Gentle pumping over by hand and no corrective intervention. Phelan Farm Autrement is then transferred to neutral oak barrels, where it rests for 9 to 12 months, depending on the character of the vintage. It is neither clarified nor filtered. Sulphur, if present at all, is in homeopathic doses, only at bottling. The ageing process thus becomes a slow meditation, an attentive listening to the whisper of fermentation and the pulse of the wine in the making.
Taste
Phelan Farm Autrement does not seek to please; it challenges. The nose is subtle and cerebral: red currants, dried rose petals, a faint echo of pomegranate, but all enveloped in an atmosphere of damp soil, split rock and ocean air. There is some wild thyme, a trace of cold smoke, and a faint perfume, like freshly worked leather.
On the palate Phelan Farm Autrement is pure nerve. Linear, sharp, almost raw at first contact, but then it opens up like a flower that decides to trust the beholder. There is tension, vibrant acidity, very fine tannin, like clay dust. The fruit insinuates rather than imposes itself: sour cherry, wild plum, a slight bitterness of dried orange peel. But it is the brutal salinity that rules here, the dry minerality that clings to the palate and lingers. The finish is long, dry, full of restrained energy, almost electric. Like a Jura wine born on the Central Coast.
Shipping to Switzerland
50% discount on orders over 378.09₣*Estimated transit time: 6-7 working days.
| Bottles | Price | Over 378.09₣* |
|---|---|---|
| 1-6 | 22.83₣ | 11.41₣ (-11.41₣) |
| 7-12 | 28.26₣ | 14.13₣ (-14.13₣) |
| 13-18 | 34.88₣ | 17.44₣ (-17.44₣) |
| 19-24 | 43.86₣ | 21.93₣ (-21.93₣) |
| 25-30 | 49.15₣ | 24.58₣ (-24.58₣) |
| 31-36 | 54.82₣ | 27.41₣ (-27.41₣) |
| 37-42 | 58.60₣ | 29.30₣ (-29.30₣) |
| 43-48 | 60.49₣ | 30.25₣ (-30.25₣) |
| 49-54 | 66.17₣ | 33.08₣ (-33.08₣) |
| 55-60 | 71.84₣ | 35.92₣ (-35.92₣) |
| VAT not included | ||
** Shipments to Switzerland include transport costs, insurance and export costs (SAD in origin), but not customs duties (SAD at destination) and local taxes.
***At Gourmet Hunters wine prices are exempt from 21% VAT for all shipments to Switzerland. Once in your shopping cart select Switzerland as delivery address to enjoy your order tax free.
Phelan Farm Savagnin & Chardonnay 2022
50.13₣
47.64₣/ud (-5%)
Phelan Farm
San Luis Obispo Coast
