La Petite Empreinte, which translates as ‘The Small Footprint’ is the very new estate of Romain de Moor and his partner Mélissa Bazin.
Mélissa has spent time in the Jura at Domaine Labet and, before that, internships in the Ardèche, where she comes from, with several vignerons including Sylvain Bock, Gérald Oustric and Gilles Azzoni. She also worked with Domaine Bruno Clair.
Romain has also worked in several estates including Jean-François Ganevat and Domaine Lapierre and, of course, with his parents on the family estate before heading to other parts of France.
What a wonderful selection of teachers they both have had! They have also both had formal training as part of their ‘apprenticeship’ prior to embarking on the La Petite Empreinte project from 2020. We are excited to be working with them and grateful to have made the connection via Romain’s parents.
Their micro-estate consisted originally of less than a hectare of vines in Saint-Bris-le-Vineux and Vincelottes, both communes in the Yonne department in the north of Burgundy. They have slowly added to it and planted new vines but it is still tiny. They currently have Pinot Noir, Gamay, and Sauvignon Blanc vines but the two wines we have for our first offering are both made from 100% Pinot Noir. The work organically in their vines, which are in clay and limestone soils, and are part-way through the process of conversion to achieve organic certification.
In the cellar they ferment their wines naturally and neither of these wines have any additions. They also do no filtration or fining. The wines are very pure and very good.
If you would like to learn more about their work you can follow their Instagram account here. They have two very young children which has slowed down their Instagram posting but there is still lots to discover about their work in their vineyards and cellar.
La Petite Empreinte Côteaux Bourguignons Mas à Tierra (Pinot Noir) 2023
The grapes for this beautiful wine come from a plot of Pinot Noir, planted in 1990, in the commune of Vincelottes in the Yonne department on a hill with a westerly exposure. The name, Más a Tierra, is inspired by the name of the island where the real Robinson Crusoe ran aground and is a recognition of the plot’s isolation.
In 2023, Romain and Mélissa had a very good harvest which challenged the available tank space for macerating. As a result they made one direct press, the juice from which was added to the macerating whole bunches.
The maceration was for about 21 days with 1 or 2 punchdowns. After pressing, the wine was aged for a year in barrels of varying sizes between 228 and 700 litres, without racking. No added sulphites for this wine.
At a recent tasting everyone thought that this was a delightful wine which shows off the potential of the Pinot Noir grape grown in the soil of this region.
RRP: $104
La Petite Empreinte Bourgogne Côte d’Auxerre Tapis Rouge 2023
Planted in 1978, these older vines are situated in Saint-Bris at the top of a south-facing Portlandian limestone plateau. The vines are currently in conversion to organics.
A brief word about the Saint-Bris commune where these vines grow and the Côte d’Auxerre appellation is one that can be applied to Pinot Noir grown in the area.
There are a number of appellations that could be used here for red grapes. These are Côteaux Bourguignons and Côte d’Auxerre for Pinot Noir and Saint-Bris for white wines made from Sauvignon Blanc (the only place in Burgundy where this grape variety is permitted).
This wine was made using the vinification they favour for their red wines it had 30 days of maceration of whole bunches with some punch downs.
After pressing it was aged for 11 months in barrels of varying sizes (228-700 litres) without racking. On the surface it is pretty and lithe but underneath there is structure and complexity. No added sulphites. 13% ABV
RRP: $93 (SOLD OUT)
La Petite Empreinte Arrosé 2023
This is the delicious, summery rosé from Mélissa and Romain that we are looking forward to releasing soon.
This cuveé has been made from grapes picked from their plot of land in the Sain-Bris Le Vineux commune which is an interesting area as it is the one spot in Burgundy where it is possible to plant Sauvignon Blanc and use the Saint-Bris appellation.
However this wine is made from Burgundian favourite, Pinot Noir which is from their plot which is planted on a plateau where the rocks are Portlandian limestone. The vines were originally planted in 1978, so are around 45 years old – a perfect age for Pinot Noir vines. The vines are currently in conversion to organic.
The grapes were harvested manually and sorted prior to being slowly direct pressed to create some colour at the end of the press. Fermentation, of course, only with the indigenous yeast and then 3 months in wooden barrels without racking.
It was bottled in December, 2023 without added sulphites. The footprints on the label are those of their daughter Isis, who was born during the 2023 harvest.
RRP: $87
You can read about the Saint-Bris appellation which permits the use of Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Gris within the Burgundy region in our Wine Talk newsletter number 109 here.
