DOMAINE ALEXANDRE JOUVEAUX

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Alexandre Jouveaux used to work in world of fashion photography (for Chanel, no less) but, as is often the case, he decided to give up the bright lights to embark on a second career as a vigneron in southern Burgundy. His wines would be entitled to one of the Macon appellations if Alexandre wanted, but he says that he hates paperwork so much that he is happy to label them as vin de table! The quantities he produces are tiny (6000 bottles in total), so no client (domestic or export) can buy more than 10 cases of each wine.

Alexandre arrived in Burgundy in the mid 1990s and bought his first plot of vines in ’99 and until he had enough vines to live on he combined work at the domaine with teaching at the local wine school. Eventually, he devoted himself full time to being a vigneron and put into practice his philosophy of minimal intervention. He follows a simple approach to the vinification of his wines once his organic grapes have been hand picked. The wines are not fined of filtered.

The signature through Alex’s wines is their incredible freshness and acidity. They offer an amazing wake up call for those feeling jaded from overblown Pouilly-Fuissé and the sea of underwhelming Macon Chardonnay. Anne-Claude Leflaive is a regular customer and admirer of Alex’s wines but thanks to his miniscule quantities he doesn’t have much of a profile, even within the natural wine scene. You never see him at any of the natural wine events, although his wines do crop up on all Paris’ best natural wine lists. Until he gets some more land, the situation is unlikely to change!