THIERRY HESNAULT
Pétillant Naturel 2021
Loire, France
This wonderful rosé pétillant comes from a direct press of old vines of the hybrid variety Plantet and a touch of Chenin Blanc planted over clay and iron, aged for eight months on lees before disgorgement. Whilst the former lends the most beautiful colour, the latter lends lift and acidity, producing a delicate, nuanced take on the genre that pairs red berries, iron and a refreshing bitterness to beautiful effect.
Plantet, Chenin Blanc
ABOUT THE PRODUCER
One particularly drab January night we met Thierry Hesnault, one of the Loire’s most discreet vignerons, at the little church in the village of Chahaignes. We followed him through a number of lanes into the woods, arriving at the entrance to a small cave. Candles were lit and we stepped out of the rain and into the tuffeau, spending the next few hours tasting his subtle, moving wines.
A native of Touraine, Thierry comes from a family of vignerons and travelled the world working in vineyards before returning to the Loire and working alongside the likes of Eric Nicolas and Jean-Pierre Robinot, whilst teaching at the Lycée Viticole in Amboise. He spent several years acquiring tiny parcels of the oldest vines he could find and in 2009 began making his own wine.
He now farms two and half hectares of old vines of Chenin, Aunis and hybrids spread out in tiny parcels across the Sarthe, planted over a complex melange of clay, iron and silex. In addition to these, Thierry also keeps a couple of old parcels of Gamay planted over deep sand near his home in Touraine. Having grown up amongst the vines, he farms with a real respect for nature, with treatments kept to an absolute minimum and a focus on channelling the energy of these remarkable old plants.
In the cave, Thierry makes wine as they did in yesteryear, without electricity or running water, relying on a deft hand, great patience and the perfect conditions for élevage the tuffeau provides to produce achingly pure wines with a real capacity to age.