LA GRAPPERIE
La Belle Egarée 2018 [1.5L]
Loire, France
Chenin Blanc from vines young and old, pressed straight to barrels for fermentation and a year of élevage. The warm vintage offers a wine that in its youth is as open and complete as any we can remember from Renaud. With classic notes of orchard fruits and a long, mineral finish, it sums up everything we love about this wonderful grape.
Chenin Blanc
ABOUT THE PRODUCER
Renaud Guettier is based in the village of Bueil-en-Touraine in the Coteaux-du-Loir. It is an area blessed with numerous hidden old parcels of Chenin Blanc and Pineau d’Aunis. Renaud trained as an agronomist specialising in plant physiology and in 2004 purchased half a hectare of old vines from his stepfather. Over the past decade he has added tiny parcels of old vines bit by bit and now farms over 25 plots across around five hectares, with an average vine age of 80 years.
The terroir is a combination of clay, flint and limestone and farming is both meticulous and admirable, done organically and by hand, without the use of chemicals or pesticides. Grapes are hand picked and brought to his cave in a former quarry dug into the limestone cliffs where they are wild fermented, basket pressed and fed by gravity to the cellar below. There they have a gentle élevage in old wooden casks, something Renaud considers vital when producing wines as he does, without anything added at any stage.
These diverse plots of old, healthy vines and Renaud’s attention to detail to both farming and élevage yields chiseled, powerful wines of uncommon balance, elegance and detail.