CATHERINE DUMORA
N(e)go 2020
Auvergne, France
Mostly a direct press of Gamays, to which destemmed berries of Syrah and Alicante were added for a week of infusion, before being pressed off to sandstone jars for nine months of rest. The addition of these latter grapes has resulted in a slightly deeper wine with a southern accent and flavours that dance between black fig, wildflowers, stones and brine.
Gamay, Gamay d’Auvergne, Syrah, Alicante
ABOUT THE PRODUCER
Originally from just south of Bordeaux, Catherine Dumora studied anthropology and travelled the world gaining experience and an appreciation for the ways of farming from yesteryear. Eventually relocating to the Auvergne, she discovered a group of talented, visionary vignerons making a kind of wine she felt an instant connection to. In 2012 she began working in vineyards alongside her partner at the time, Manu Duveau, with the two producing some truly memorable wines under various monikers.
In 2019 Catherine moved to Lamontgie in the the Puy de Dôme’s south to start afresh and began tending three hectares of vines between forty and eighty years old, spread out across small parcels hidden amongst meadows and forest. Facing west, the vines benefit from a constant breeze and are planted over a fascinating mix of granite, quartz and sand, offering an interesting counterpoint to the basalt soils that define much of the region.
In the vineyards Catherine adopts a minimalist approach, working by hand with little in the way of equipment. There is a real focus on soil health and the promotion of plants that are beneficial to the vines. So far she has almost entirely eschewed the use of treatments, though having suffered significant loses, in the future her focus will be on infusions of wild plants to give the vines the extra strength they need.
In the cellar, Catherine describes her approach as being led by intuition, instinct, feeling and emotion. She decides how to proceed based on the fruits of each harvest and aims merely to guide the wine on its journey from plant to glass. In doing so she is producing some of the most thoughtful and original wines we’ve tasted from this most exciting of regions.