Marie Thibault, Azay le Rideau, Organic
Le Grolleau comes from Azay le Rideau, incidentally the area where Grolleau grape is meant to have been first planted. The wine has enticing red berries, cherry aromas, very clean and focused, the bright fruit acidity refreshes the palate while the round, ripe sweet red cherry notes end with light spices, Totally delicious.
Marie Thibault grew up in the Loire Valley but doesn’t come from a winemaking family and it was only after graduation from University with degrees in vegetal biology and Oenology that she pursued making her own wines.
She began in 2002 working with François Chidaine in Montlouis, falling in love with Chenin Blanc there and making wine under her own name in 2004. She purchased her own estate in 2010 and converted to organics immediately. She has been certified with Ecocert since 2014.
Her contiguous parcel is situated on limestone, white clay and flint soil slopes in Azay le Rideau, famous for its beautiful Chateau, but a lesser known appellation within the Touraine AOC.
Her single parcel is only 4 hectares but the soils are extremely varied and as such so are the grape varieties. She works with Côt (Malbec), Gamay, Grolleau, Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon blanc. Most of her vines are at least 50 years old.
Marie also buys some grapes from organic estates close by, which she herself harvests and vinifies in her cellar. She shares this micro negoce activity with her husband Frantz Saumon, another fantastic natural grower in the area. The wines see no additives other than a tiny addition of S02 before bottling, if any is added at all.