Most people think of their parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles as their family tree. For award-winning King Family Vineyards winemaker Matthieu Finot, it would be more accurate to call it a family vine. Finot’s relatives own vineyards and make wine in their native country of France. The recent launch of the Domaine Finot label in Virginia marks the debut of Finot’s personal project, but is also a nod to the family’s eponymous Domaine Finot winery across the pond.
The idea of this nascent project started in 2016 when Gilbert Tallard hired Finot to assist with the management of Tallard’s Turk Mountain Vineyards. For Finot, growing grapes in the vineyard and winemaking go hand in hand, and he was excited by the opportunity to produce wine “from grapes to bottle.” He also wanted to get closer to his roots as a winemaker by working in the vineyard. After three years of trial and error, the first release is from the 2019 vintage.
In contrast to the state-of-the-art equipment that Finot uses at King Family, his approach to Domaine Finot wines is simpler and minimalistic. He is intentionally pursuing a philosophy referred to as “garagiste,” a term that implies small-batch winemaking done in a garage. All of the wines are made whole cluster (not requiring equipment for destemming) and without added yeast or sulfur. This mirrors the philosophy of French wineries, where organic farming is practiced and wines are made with minimal intervention.
Finot is excited to see more small, personal labels in Virginia. He calls these projects “honest and interesting” and feels they represent an opportunity to tell a different, perhaps more personal, story and present another style of winemaking often not seen in larger wineries. Like others with personal projects, it’s obvious the primary motivation for Finot is simply the love of wine.
The Domaine Finot 2019 Malbec is a wonderful surprise, as malbec is not usually a grape variety that flourishes in Virginia. The nose presents with blackberry and black plum with some brighter notes of red cherry and raspberry. On the tongue, it exhibits bright acidity, red fruit flavors of strawberry and cherry, and some darker fruits such as blackberry jam. It is balanced, complex, well concentrated, and lingering.
Finot will also produce petit verdot, tannat, cabernet franc, and merlot with his Turk Mountain grapes. His 2019 Tannat is bottled and will be ready for release in about six months. An early sample showed a big, bold, structured wine full of black fruits, stewed fruits, and a hint of licorice. It’s built to age and will reward those who are patient with its evolution.