The wine is light and very expressive - lime, orange peel mingle with mineral notes, ending with racy acidity and freshness. The brightest expression of Chenin Blanc.
Nicolas was a Jazz and blues pianist until he was 22 at which age he became a winemaker. He had always been passionate about wine, and when he was finding it difficult to earn his living in the music business, he decided on a dramatic career change. He studied winemaking and viticulture at Montreuil and supplemented these studies with more at Bordeaux. He also worked with several local Anjou vignerons to acquire valuable experience. He bought this vineyard in 2002 from another viticulteur.
Some years later, in 2007, he founded his own négoce business, buying grapes from other growers, because the 1.3 hectares of vines of his own estate were not producing enough grapes to satisfy demand.
This cuvée is one such wine made from grapes bought from another grower - the vines that produced this particular wine are planted in the village of Cersay, near Nicolas’ own estate, near Thouars and near the large town of Bouillé-Loretz.
These particular Chenin vines are planted in clay-limestone, on fairly level ground, facing North-West/South-East, but the altitude above sea level of the area where these vines are planted is 85 metres.
Sustainable agriculture, (Nicolas and the grower who grew these Chenin Blanc grapes have decided to begin converting this vineyard to organic farming.).The Chenin vines that produced this particular wine are cut to the Guyot Simple cut.
Wild yeast fermentation without temperature control is used from three to five wines) large oak barrels (of 228 Litres and 500-litres). The fermentation lasted for three months (October to January), no Malolactic Fermentation, there was no racking off the lees. Therefore the wine was left in barrel on its lees until was bottled in May 2016 (meaning that ageing on lees lasted from January to May (five months).
It was filtered, but not fined. 3g/HL of Sulphur was added to the just-harvested grapes.