Vibrant, textural bojo blanc from a natural star. Yes, please!

Séléné, ‘Beaujolais Blanc’, 100% Chardonnay, Beaujolais France Beaujolais Blancs are not exactly a dime a dozen, but they’re such a cute little wine nerd niche. The Beaujolais region is located just south of fancypants Bourgogne, & white Beaujo— always made from 100% Chardonnay, just like in Bourgogne—drinks like Burgundy’s breezy younger sibling who takes a laissez-faire approach to all aspects of life (except for FUN, which they take extremely seriously.) Séléné winemaker Sylvère Trichard’s produces only a small amount of this highly coveted white, which is so freaking delicious that we do really want to hoard it all for ourselves, but won’t, because we love you. This is a savoury & textural Chard— all of Trichard’s wines are rooted in a distinctly punk rock spirit, but this Beaujolais Blanc’s innate rebelliousness is tempered by an intellectual, avant-garde backbone. Amply acidic, with an intriguing creamy note that reminds us of a hunk of sharp cheddar on a slice of cinnamony apple pie, which incidentally it would also pair very well with! Notes of beeswax, lemon curd & cool granite; this wine is effortless yet thought-provoking, like a casually-snapped candid photograph that turns out to be a work of genius.PRODUCTION & DRINKING

Séléné is a wine project, but also an organic vegetable farm, harkening back to the mixed agriculture that was once the norm in Beaujolais. Started in 2012 by young vigneron Sylvère Trichard and farmer Elodie Bouvard, Séléné looks to connect with the land and produce something beautiful in the small town of Blace, Beaujolais where Sylvère grew up. Elodie oversees the organic vegetable farm on the property, while Sylvère organically farms 4 hectares of vines he took over from his uncle and also buys organic grapes from trusted neighbours that he turns into captivating wines of place.

Sylvère interned with Domaine Belluard (Savoie - extremely delicious) and worked at Domaine Lapalu (a Beaujolais master) before starting his own project. The wines go through semi-carbonic maceration, are aged in neutral vessels and are bottled with minimal or no SO2. Sylvère says, “the aim is to obtain wines that are more digestible, light and live, all to respect my environment, as well as the consumer. With this approach, I feel more artisan of the wine.”