Domaine de l'Amandier, Martin Texier, Saint julien en Saint Alban
AOCs: St.-Julien-en-St.-Alban, Brézème
Varieties: Muscat, Chasselas Rose, Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault
Viticulture: Organic
Size: 5 hectares
Terroir: Clay, Limestone, Gneiss, Marl, Schist, Granite
Varieties: Muscat, Chasselas Rose, Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault
Viticulture: Organic
Size: 5 hectares
Terroir: Clay, Limestone, Gneiss, Marl, Schist, Granite
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Martin Texier (you may have heard of his father, Eric, the now famous northern Rhône natural wine producer) began making wine in 2014 after a previous life studying economics. After leaving university, he ventured into music (he is an accomplished DJ) and also spent time in New York City learning about the wine trade here (he held internships at both Uva Wines in Brooklyn and Flatiron Wines in Manhattan, as well as the greatest record store in the world, A1 Records). It was after this that he realized that his calling was to follow in his father’s footsteps and return to the vines.
He now has five hectares in and around St.-Julien-en-St.-Alban, planted to classic Rhône varieties, both red and white. There are many different soil types here: clay, limestone, gneiss, schist and granite, making for a wide range of different styles of wine to be made. Martin’s passion is to revive the local traditions of working the natural way, both in the vines and in the cellar (native yeast fermentations, no sulfur). The results he has been getting this early in his career are a clear testament to his skills.
He now has five hectares in and around St.-Julien-en-St.-Alban, planted to classic Rhône varieties, both red and white. There are many different soil types here: clay, limestone, gneiss, schist and granite, making for a wide range of different styles of wine to be made. Martin’s passion is to revive the local traditions of working the natural way, both in the vines and in the cellar (native yeast fermentations, no sulfur). The results he has been getting this early in his career are a clear testament to his skills.
WINES
Petit Nature : Petit Nature is Martin’s pétillant naturel made from Muscat, Chasselas Rose, and a mélange of different table varieties. Direct press to stainless steel; bottled with 15g/liter residual sugar to carry out secondary fermentation in the bottle. Aromatic, dry, and energetic.
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Roussanne: His Roussanne is from young vines (the first vintage he was able to harvest was 2018) planted in granitic soils. Direct press to concrete for fermentation before racking to neutral barrique for élevage.
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Brezeme Blanc 2020: Roussanne from a parcel planted three years ago. Fermented and kept in barrels on the lees.
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Brézème is an anomaly in the northern Rhône. It is a single slope of rocky, broken down limestone (compared to the granitic soils that are the norm around these parts) rising above the alluvial plains of the Massif Central. It is only planted to 22ha of vines, with the majority of them farmed by Martin and his father, Eric. Martin’s wine from here is sourced from 30-year-old Syrah vines. Half-destemmed, and pressed after a ten-day maceration. Élevage is done in concrete tank with no sulfur added. Very pretty, classic wine.
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Grenache: Martin’s Grenache is from 30-year-old vines planted in granitic soil with a veins of limestone, gneiss, and schist running through it. All stems are included and the grapes are pressed by foot after a week-long maceration. No SO2 added.
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Le Preyna is the name of an old parcel planted with 75% cinsault and 25% grenache in deep granitic soils. The grapes are pressed and fermented separately in concrete tanks and blended before bottling. This is a typical, light-bodied, everyday wine local to the region.
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His Cinsault is made from the oldest vines in St.-Julien, planted in the 1950s. Limestone and marl soils. Harvested by hand; about half of the grapes are destemmed before a six-day maceration. Pressed into concrete tank for fermentation and élevage with no SO2 added at any time.
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Q & A
Selection Massale: Since you began has your approach changed in terms of vineyard work and/ or winemaking?
Martin Texier: I wouldn't say I have changed my mind in terms of viticulture, but for sure I have technically improved. I have been selecting cover cops or permanent weed covers, cleaning where it needed to be done, replanting where it also needed to be done. I think it's just a matter of experience and knowledge of my own parcels that makes it better, but the general goal (to have living soils and terroir-adapted plants) hasn't changed.
SM: What has been the most valuable lesson you learned over the years in terms of winemaking?
MT: In terms of winemaking, yes, it's changed. In the beginning, I had a very naive approach and thought "the easier, the better" but that has changed. I have realized that Syrah is a complicated variety that needs special treatment to be good. It needs perfect maturity, precise winemaking, and good aging conditions in order to be pleasant and delicate, otherwise, it's just Syrah juice that I really don't like.
I have realized that I love Cinsault very much and I have figured out the way to make it that pleases me.
I still need more years of winemaking in order to really understand how different maturities, different aging, and different years will affect the result. But in terms of winemaking strictly said - winemaking techniques, harvesting, pressing, pumping over, destemming, etc. - I think I found my style. Which is not "the easier the better" but "the simpler the better" which is also a way of seeing things I apply to many other things in my life.
SM: What is something you want everyone to understand about Brezeme?
MT: Regarding Brezeme, I want people to understand first that it is a great northern Rhone terroir for whites, and second that the wines of Brezeme need aging to show their potential. The young wines of Brezeme can be wild, acid-driven, mute, sometimes disequilibrated. In my first years of winemaking that would make me frustrated because I couldn't find what I wanted in my wines immediately. I figured out that these wines need both times in the barrel and in the bottle (that's what my father does before selling them). This terroir gives you no choice but to make old-school northern Rhône Syrah. You shouldn't look for a fruit bomb when buying a bottle of Brezeme, but expect a classic old northern Rhône profile that's the opposite of modern jammy Syrah's.
Martin Texier: I wouldn't say I have changed my mind in terms of viticulture, but for sure I have technically improved. I have been selecting cover cops or permanent weed covers, cleaning where it needed to be done, replanting where it also needed to be done. I think it's just a matter of experience and knowledge of my own parcels that makes it better, but the general goal (to have living soils and terroir-adapted plants) hasn't changed.
SM: What has been the most valuable lesson you learned over the years in terms of winemaking?
MT: In terms of winemaking, yes, it's changed. In the beginning, I had a very naive approach and thought "the easier, the better" but that has changed. I have realized that Syrah is a complicated variety that needs special treatment to be good. It needs perfect maturity, precise winemaking, and good aging conditions in order to be pleasant and delicate, otherwise, it's just Syrah juice that I really don't like.
I have realized that I love Cinsault very much and I have figured out the way to make it that pleases me.
I still need more years of winemaking in order to really understand how different maturities, different aging, and different years will affect the result. But in terms of winemaking strictly said - winemaking techniques, harvesting, pressing, pumping over, destemming, etc. - I think I found my style. Which is not "the easier the better" but "the simpler the better" which is also a way of seeing things I apply to many other things in my life.
SM: What is something you want everyone to understand about Brezeme?
MT: Regarding Brezeme, I want people to understand first that it is a great northern Rhone terroir for whites, and second that the wines of Brezeme need aging to show their potential. The young wines of Brezeme can be wild, acid-driven, mute, sometimes disequilibrated. In my first years of winemaking that would make me frustrated because I couldn't find what I wanted in my wines immediately. I figured out that these wines need both times in the barrel and in the bottle (that's what my father does before selling them). This terroir gives you no choice but to make old-school northern Rhône Syrah. You shouldn't look for a fruit bomb when buying a bottle of Brezeme, but expect a classic old northern Rhône profile that's the opposite of modern jammy Syrah's.
How have Martin's wines changed over the years?
Guilhaume Gerard: Martin went from shadowing his dad to making his own decisions over his and his dad's vineyards. He has quickly become a real vigneron when he was supposed to be a banker.
I find that his style evolved towards finesse and purity. He has a true understanding of his terroirs and grapes, he dropped parcels that he didn't love, restructured his vineyard to his liking, and planted new parcels in Brezeme with all Roussanne. He manages this balance of easy-going/pleasurable wines without being carbo cliché like many in the Rhone.
He is a true genius though it may take time for people to see him as something other than his father's son
How would you describe Brezeme?
GG: To me, Brezeme is straight up the greatest northern Rhone terroir, the only one that's limestone-based which brings truly superior fruit, chiseled, acid-driven, complex wines.
Guilhaume Gerard: Martin went from shadowing his dad to making his own decisions over his and his dad's vineyards. He has quickly become a real vigneron when he was supposed to be a banker.
I find that his style evolved towards finesse and purity. He has a true understanding of his terroirs and grapes, he dropped parcels that he didn't love, restructured his vineyard to his liking, and planted new parcels in Brezeme with all Roussanne. He manages this balance of easy-going/pleasurable wines without being carbo cliché like many in the Rhone.
He is a true genius though it may take time for people to see him as something other than his father's son
How would you describe Brezeme?
GG: To me, Brezeme is straight up the greatest northern Rhone terroir, the only one that's limestone-based which brings truly superior fruit, chiseled, acid-driven, complex wines.