Maxence Lecat

Maxence Lecat’s La Boussole project is one of the most exciting new developments coming out of Baden. A Breton native with a background in classical French winemaking, Lecat developed his stylistic precision while serving as the Director of Global Winemaking for Oregon's cult luxury label, 00 Wines. Choosing Germany’s southern reaches to strike out on his own, he now crafts minuscule quantities of highly precise Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Named after his love for sailing, La Boussole (The Compass) applies a meticulous, low-intervention approach to some of Baden's most expressive, limestone-dominant hillsides, yielding structural wines that show remarkable tension and complexity. By combining demanding French craftsmanship with Baden's unique terroirs, Lecat is successfully proving that Germany's cool-climate hillsides belong in the exact same conversation as the world's great traditional estates.

History and Background

To understand the architecture of Lecat’s wines, one has to look at where he sharpened his tools. Maxence did not inherit a multi-generational estate; instead, he built his philosophy through an itinerant journey across several of the world’s most demanding wine regions.

He spent formative years vinifying in Burgundy and Champagne, mastering the granular intricacies of barrel management, natural reduction, and phenolic tension. Seeking to test these Old-World sensibilities against a different frontier, he moved to Oregon’s Willamette Valley to work with cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. His work there as the Director of Global Winemaking for 00 Wines firmly established his reputation for producing world-class, structurally intense whites and reds.

Lecat eventually arrived in Germany, where his talent quickly caught the attention of the natural wine world — he became a key part of the winemaking team at the legendary natural Baden estate, Enderle & Moll, working alongside Florian Moll in the village of Münchweier. It was during this time in Baden that the vision for his own label was born. Established alongside his work at the estate, La Boussole was conceived as an ode to the spirit of adventure — a Franco-German bridge designed to apply uncompromising, classical French craftsmanship to majestic, yet globally under-the-radar German terroirs.

“Reminding many of the wines of Coche-Dury.”

by Charles Curtis MW, Decanter on the 00 Wines Chardonnays

Vineyard and Terroir

Baden is traditionally known as Germany’s warmest wine region, but its hillside pockets and northern sub-regions offer remarkably cool microclimates blessed with highly complex soils. Lecat focuses his production on distinct, high-potential villages within the region, working hand-in-hand with talented, organic growers who share his demanding standards for viticulture.

The Chardonnay Sites (Kippenheim)
For his white wines, Lecat sources fruit from the limestone-dominant slopes around Kippenheim. The heavy presence of shell limestone (Muschelkalk) gives the vines access to the intense mineral core needed to drive high acidity and structural power, closely mimicking the classic soil profiles found in the Côte de Beaune or Chablis.

The Pinot Noir Sites (Münchweier)
For his reds, Lecat looks to the historic vineyards of Münchweier. The soils here are a complex tapestry of loess, loam, and weathered limestone. The iron-rich properties provide his Pinot Noir with an assertive, structural backbone and a distinct savory, spicy complexity that sets it apart from the more opulent, fruit-driven styles often found in warmer parts of Southern Germany.

Winemaking Philosophy

Lecat’s cellar work is straightforward and low-intervention, relying on his classical French training to guide the wines rather than forcing a heavy hand.

Everything is picked by hand with strict sorting in the vineyard to ensure only pristine fruit enters the cellar. Fermentations kick off naturally with wild yeasts, and the wines are then left to age undisturbed for about 18 months in a mix of new and used French oak barrels.

To keep the fruit and terroir as expressive as possible, Lecat bottles without fining or filtration, and he keeps sulfur use to a bare minimum, adding just a tiny touch at bottling for stability. This patient approach gives his whites a lovely, clean touch of natural reduction and allows his reds to retain a bright, structural clarity.

Signature Wines

Because La Boussole is a true micro-operation, total production across the entire portfolio hovers at just a few thousand bottles per vintage.

21° NORD / 23° NORD Chardonnay
Sourced from the limestone parcels of Kippenheim, this is a masterfully sculpted white. The nose typically opens with a pristine, crystalline focus and a subtle, classy matchstick reduction that opens up into citrus peel, white flowers, and crushed wet stone. On the palate, it is broad yet strictly framed by a laser-like acidity. It possesses the texture, length, and nutty complexity that immediately recalls a serious village Meursault or a tension-filled Jura, yet it holds a distinctly vibrant, energetic German pulse.

21° SUD / 23° SUD Pinot Noir
Hailing from the loess and limestone soils of Münchweier, this Pinot Noir shows brilliant, structural definition. It leans away from heavy extraction, showing a translucent ruby hue and a highly aromatic bouquet dominated by wild strawberries, bright red cherries, smoked herbs, and a complex, peppery spice. Voluminous on the palate yet strikingly elegant, it balances delicate, velvety tannins with a fresh, crisp finish that feels endlessly pure and deeply intellectual.

Recognition and Impact

Since debuting with the 2021 vintage, La Boussole has generated steady, high-level enthusiasm among collectors and sommeliers tracking the evolution of cool-climate viticulture. Because total production is so small, allocations don't sit on retail shelves; they move almost entirely by word of mouth through specialized merchant and restaurant networks.

The early baseline set by the European trade remains the benchmark for the estate. After evaluating the inaugural releases, the tasting team at the Danish fine wine merchant Volant Vin noted that they were completely blown away by the precision of the winemaking, famously calling them "wines that can very much measure up against top-tier Burgundy." Rather than relying on standard commercial point systems, Maxence has spent the last few years earning his reputation on the ground as a vital reference point for modern, structured Baden winemaking.

Maxence Lecat’s La Boussole project shows exactly what happens when classical French training is applied to under-the-radar German terroirs. Maxence has managed to avoid the heavy, over-ripe style that often compromises modern Baden wines, turning out small batches that lean entirely on tension, clarity, and acid structure. For anyone who appreciates the savory depth of traditional Burgundy but wants to see that philosophy expressed through a fresh, different lens, these bottles are highly worth adding to a cellar.

2017 Clos des Papes • Chateauneuf du Pape

He blends grapes from his different plots to co-ferment in large vats, after which he then re-blends in to large 20-55 hectoliter wooden foudres (casks) to mature for 15 months. New or small barrels are never used, “I like the oak to make an indirect impact – I only want tannins from the grape skins not even the pips and certainly not the stalks” says Avril. And though it may not be widely known, this domaine has been buying corks from the same producer in Portugal ever since 1926!

The wines are no doubt enticing, garnering great praise from many publications and critics such as Wine Spectator who awarded their 2005 vintage as “Wine of the Year”, stating that “in the Southern Rhône's recent trio of great vintages starting with 2003, no other Châteauneuf-du-Pape domaine has produced better wines than Clos des Papes”. But the accolades don’t stop there, as Robert Parker followed on to pronounce the 2007 vintage “the greatest Chateauneuf du Pape made since 1978 and 1990”.

We at Ginsberg+Chan are extremely proud to be the exclusive distributors of Clos des Papes, and with good volumes of both red and white back vintages too, we can ensure you a wide range of drinking windows for your cellar.

Available Wines From Maxence Lecat