Alexandre Bain's Sauvignons are totally unique and 'hors normes'. Alexandre manages to reach levels of ripeness, richness and complexity rarely, if ever seen anywhere else. Yet, and most importantly, this generosity in texture and flavour is always matched and balanced to perfection with racy freshness and mineral character.
La Levee 2019 is no different, it opens up with floral notes, candied quince and stewed red apple, the palate is generous and powerful, honeyed notes, pear, pineapple gently lifted by delicate spicy notes. The mineral freshness hits you from the very beginning and elegantly support all these aromas throughout. A Sauvignon like no other.
ALEXANDRE BAIN, Tracy sur Loire Biodynamic, Natural
“The best Pouilly I’ve ever tasted!” – Isabelle Legeron MW
Alexandre Bain is a wonderful but rare specimen. He wasn't born into wine, his father wasn't a vigneron and he wasn't born in Pouilly Fumé. However, his grandfather owned a few plots in the area which he had bought as a rental investment. In 2007, after working in different estates in the Loire, California and Ventoux Alexandre persuaded his grandfather to let him work on the vines. Gradually, he started buying
more parcels from growers who were scaling down and today owns 11 ha. Like his good friend Sebastien Riffault in Sancerre, Alexandre harvests later than most in his region (on average two weeks) which gives the wines their darker hue. In order to retain the maximum acidity in his grapes, Alexandre trains his vines low and like his peers Olivier Cousin and also chooses to plough with a horse. Harvest is done by hand, a rarity in Pouilly-Fume/Sancerre and yields are amazingly small. His vineyards are a picture of health, a credit to his commitment to biodynamic.
Astonishingly, Alexandre was rejected from the Pouilly Fumé appelation in 2015, once again meaning that some of the finest and most lovingly crafted wines will now labelled Vin De France. In May 2017, Alexandre won his case against the INAO and the decision to give his wonderful wines the Pouilly-Fume appellation was granted to him by the court of Dijon.