Norman power with southern flair
Alain Normand comes from the Loire Valley, but his roots are in Normandy, which explains his name. He is a true Northman, a Viking, and true to his origins he is a tall, red-haired man, especially by French standards. During his training at the wine school in Beaune he met Sylvaine, a Burgundian. Together they started their careers by taking over an abandoned vineyard in La Roche-Vineuse through a métayage contract, a common French agricultural practice in which the landlord is paid in wine.
Alain Normand now farms 35 hectares in, among other places, La Roche-Vineuse, an old village located on the steep slope of an enormous limestone spur that gives Vineuse its name. This village is located on the small pass that cuts through the Mâcon Hills and leads to Cluny, once the center of power of the Benedictine order of monks in their medieval heyday.
One of their secret weapons is the Bourgogne Pinot Noir cuvée Esus, which even tempts non-Pinot Noir lovers with its seductive vanilla notes and warmth. Their Vieilles Vignes cuvee La Roche Vineuse is one of the founders of Burgundy or Nowhere. A luxurious wood-aged Chardonnay: powerful, rich, southern, with creamy curves and a subtle mineral freshness.