Château La Borie

July 23, 2025

I couldn’t be more thrilled to share this month’s lineup of wines from Château La Borie —made by my longtime friend Raphaël Knapp. Rapha & my journey began over a decade ago, caravanning through France with a handful of San Francisco natural wine weirdos.

After years of importing some of the world's most well-known natty producers, Rapha walked away from the sample bag and started his dream of making his own clean wines. Today, he calls "Suze‑la‑Rousse" home - a commune in the heart of the Rhone Valley. He farms terroir-driven vineyards full of limestone, clay, and sun-soaked slopes and uses a “hands-off” approach that lets each parcel sing.

Raphaël’s estate is one of the rare domaines in Rhône allowed to use the “Château” designation and has stood at the forefront of organic conversion since 2019. With vineyards planted to Clairette, Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, these wines are farmed using native yeasts and minimal intervention - every bottle captures the region’s mosaic of soils and Mediterranean climate.

From a vivacious Pét-Nat blanc to richly textured Rhône Reds, this selection offers a genuine taste of tradition reborn:

Enjoy the taste of Rhône terroir—crafted by a friend, backed by craft, and meant to be shared.

Santé! 🍷

Joel