Vin Noé
Burgundian micro-Domaine and estate, Vin Noé is the project of young Californian winemaker Jonathan Purcell. After graduating from his studies in Beaune, Jonathan built an impressive resume working as a tractor operator at the legendary Domaine de Montille and also for many years under the fabled Burgundian natural wine icon Philippe Pacalet.
Touted as the next rising star of Beaujolais, Purcell grew up with lavish tastebuds, with his father introducing him to the extravagance of wine at an early age (13), by having him taste Burgundies from the ’40s and ’50s. Tres lavish.
The aromas of those elixirs seduced him into forging a vinous path and by the age of 15 he’d already decided that “when he grows up” he too would make wine.
Hands-Off Approach
After working his first harvests in Australia, South Africa and the Napa Valley, Jon headed to Beaune in 2012 to study wine growing and production, finding himself in the same class as Camille Lapierre, Alex Foillard and Yann Bertrand.
After graduation, he worked for the best of the best, building himself an impressive CV across a multitude of powerhouse Domaines across France until he finally started his own business in 2017, founding a collective winery and a high-quality négociant business with his friend (and fellow emerging superstar Chris Satini).
Today, his formative love for Burgundy has been eclipsed by a passion for Beaujolais and for Gamay, which Jon vinifies brilliantly beyond his age.
His wines are produced using purchased grapes from the Mâcon, Beaujolais, and more recently from leased sites in the holy lands of Puligny-Montrachet and Saint Aubin.
Jonathan takes a hands-off approach in the cellar, using wild yeast fermentation, zero sulphur additions and gently transferring wines without the use of a pump.
Inspired by his work at Pacalet, Jonathan often opts for longer macerations with whole clusters, resulting in wines with deep and complex aromatics.
He is making these Domaine wines, in a clean but no sulphur style. The reds are voluminous yet fresh and the whites are still very textural. We only have a minute volume of these wines available and are as rare as they are delicious so don’t sleep on Vin Noé.