Naturally good wines

Some swear by them, or even use them shamelessly as the ultimate selling point. Others snub them or look at them out of the corner of their eye. In any case, they don't leave anyone indifferent. And yet, to date, no label or certification concretely defines what a natural wine is. A natural wine is generally defined as a wine or wine production that respects the environment or is produced as "naturally" as possible. It should be remembered, however, that wine is by no means a natural product, since it is the result of the transformation of a raw material (grapes) impossible to obtain without human intervention...

Numerous criteria

The conditions involved in defining this type of wine are quite numerous. Depending on their own interests, the various chapels argue over them. Firstly, the vineyard: it must be organic or, at the very least, committed to using no synthetic products. There seems to be a consensus on this point.

Next comes the harvest: must it be manual or can it be mechanical? Once in the cellar, for vinification, should the yeasts be exclusively indigenous? For bottling, how should filtering and fining be taken into account? These are all questions to which every winemaker, wine merchant, sommelier and consumer has his or her own answer. The one point on which everyone agrees, and which, rightly or wrongly, creates the most tension, is sulfur.

Sulfur and other inputs

"Natural" is often used as a synonym for "no added sulfur". A powerful antioxidant, this mineral, widely used by winemakers and oenologists, is the focus of much criticism. In excess, it is said to be responsible not only for a peculiar taste, but also for the following day's headaches and the "padlocking" of wines, rendering them lifeless and bland in the process. For those in favor of its use, it enables clear, clean wines to be made, and protects them so that they can travel and be preserved.

Are so-called natural wines sulfur-free? Or do they contain very little? If so, what's the limit? Nothing is clear. In addition, other oenological inputs are used: acidifiers, stabilizers, bacteria for malolactic fermentation... Are these also prohibited?

As we can see, the essential role of a label is to establish transparent standards of membership, with specifications to be respected, so that consumers can make informed choices according to their own criteria. As long as regulations have not broken through in this fast-growing market, and as long as the list of ingredients is not compulsorily mentioned on bottles, as it is on other food products, it will remain difficult to agree on the term "natural wine".

However, the association Les Vins S.A.I.N.S., which brings together winegrowers, has drawn up its own internal charter(https://vins-sains.org/category/La-charte/Fran%C3%A7ais). Another charter, "Vin méthode nature"(https://vinmethodenature.org/le-label/), with or without sulfur, was also created on the initiative of the Syndicat de défense des vins naturels, founded in 2019.

We have chosen to illustrate this question with five cuvées that we could define as "nature", but which we prefer, quite simply, to describe as good wines.

• Serge Scherrer (1)

Domaine Agarrus

Cuvée "L'Insoumis

Vin de France

No vintage

Lovely nose with lots of fruit and purity for this 100% Carignan. On the palate, the wine is supple, round and precise. An easy wine in the good sense of the word, in which the grape juice is not masked by ageing. This Alsatian-born winemaker in the Cévennes also produces the cuvée "Équilibriste", a pure Syrah unfortunately produced in very small quantities.

• Yvan Bernard and Audrey Baldassin (2)

Domaine Les Chemins de l'Arkose

Cuvée "Pétrosus

Vin de France

2020

Beautiful Auvergne Pinot Noir with clean, elegant fruit. On the palate, the wine is powerful and well representative of its vintage, with ripe, warm, enveloping fruit. This cuvée combines young vines aged in vats and old vines aged in barrels. Clever and very successful.

• Alexandre Gressent and Céline Peyre (3)

Domaine Balansa

Cuvée "La Vinhota

Vin de France

2021

A very young wine with a floral nose from its carbonic vinification. On the palate, the wine is round, very fruity and perfectly clean. You'll want to drink this beverage made mainly from the local lledoner pelut grape for its floral length and intense fruitiness. Perfect for summer.

• Domaine des Buis (4)

Pauline Broqua

Cuvée "Prima Vera

Vin de France

2020

A blend of Fer Servadou, a typically regional grape variety, and Cabernet Franc for this cuvée with its floral nose and fine licorice notes. The palate explodes with red and black fruit, with great depth. The low-tannin structure makes you want to drink it and keep coming back for more. A cuvée of pleasure.

• Antoine Marois (5)

Pays d'Auge cider

Cuvée "Ad Astra

Poiré

No vintage

This perry (pear cider only) is simply superb. Very fine, very straightforward, with juicy pear notes, but nothing exuberant, all delicacy. The palate matches it in finesse, straightforwardness and elegance. So good, refreshing and sapid. A fine vintage.