CLAIRE AND FLORENT BEJON
Les Gruches 2022
Loire, France
Chenin Blanc from less than a hectare of old vines planted over clay, limestone and silex, spread out amongst tiny parcels. From a powerful vintage, the grapes were pressed directly to old barrels for three years of élevage and the wine was bottled with a touch of sugar remaining. This has now dissolved into the wine, leaving a vin de garde of staggering depth and complexity which will reward drinkers for many years to come.
Please note there is a limit of one bottle per customer.
Chenin blanc
ABOUT THE PRODUCER
From a little cave in the village of Saint-Germain-sur-Vienne, Claire and Florent Bejon quietly go about making some of the best wines in all of the Loire.
Although the two have been growing grapes and making wine for over twenty years, until recently their production was so small that the wines were almost impossible to find. Florent spent the past few decades travelling around the region helping other vignerons bottle their wines without additives, and his work led to him meeting influential figures such as Mark Angeli, who instilled a passion for sustainable agriculture and a search for purity in wine.
Claire and Florent now farm a total of five hectares of vines spread amongst tiny parcels on either bank of the Vienne, just to the west of Chinon. The vines are on average fifty years old and planted over complex and varied soils made up of clay, limestone and a large amount of silex. The majority of the vines are planted with Cabernet Franc, but they also farm a little over half a hectare of Chenin Blanc, producing tiny quantities of what is one of our favourite expressions of the grape.
All work in the vineyard is done organically and by hand. They prefer to let nature find harmony, and rarely trim the shoots, flowers and weeds that grow between the vines. The wines are made in an old cellar dug into the tuffeau and here the Bejons display a real lightness of touch, with an emphasis on long, gentle infusions and a proper élevage in a mix of old casks, demijohns and earthenware jars.
Built on a backbone of pristine fruit, their wines are striking in their delicacy, purity and perfume.