Vini Viti Vinci Coulanges-la-Vineuse Grôle Tête

Nicolas Vauthier, or Kikro as he is known by his friends, has been a big fan of natural wines; he has been on the forefront of promoting the wines he loves for many years. He had a long career working in wine, starting by actually attending enology school and working at wineries in Washington State as well as France, learning how to make very industrial wines. He then embarked on a career at retail wine in France, where he soon discovered the wines that would become his real passion. After that he helped open Aux Crieurs de Vins, a well-known and favorite natural wine bar in Troyes in nearby Champagne. Aux Crieurs was one of the first natural wine bars in France, and its status is still legendary today. He sold his interest in the wine bar and after a time working with Philippe Pacalet, he used his many years of experience tasting the best natural wines France had to offer, to start his own micro-negociant winery in 2009, in the spirit of other small Burgundian winemakers such as Pacalet.

Today Kikro works exclusively with the less desired appellations of Northern Burgundy, including Chitry, Irancy and Epineuil, working with Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Aligoté. The reds are made entirely with whole bunches and carbonic maceration followed by brief elevage times for softening in barrique, like he learned working with Pacalet. The result is extremely quaffable and delicious pinot noir, with a lot of finesse.