COTEAUX DU LAYON BEAULIEU
2018 Les Rouannières Château de Pierre Bise
Grapes | Chenin Blanc |
Origin | France, Loire |
Sub-district | Anjou |
Village | Coteaux du Layon Beaulieu |
ABV | 13% |
Vineyard | Les Rouannières |
Les Rouannières is an area of Beaulieu-sur-Layon in the heart of Anjou. All of the Rouannières site, with its frail rocky outcrops, stands out as an arid and wild part of the wine region with an original microclimate enhanced by a remarkable reserve of plant life; about sixty Mediterranean plants are found here, at their most northerly limit in Europe. The mountain cicada, a family of eagles and a few rare butterflies have also made their home here. Les Rouannières is known particularly for strong precocity (mineral personality), a strong wind (aromatic liveliness), weathered clay with a swelling structure which in such soils promotes better resistance to drought (structural finesse), and excellent botrytisation thanks to the proximity of the Layon. The hardness of the spilite and the harshness of the rocky soil are expressed in the density of the wine and in the fact that it opens up slowly. Wines from Les Rouannières are always mineral, aromatically lively, dense on the palate, and slow to open but never austere thanks to the original nature of the clay and the absence of schist removing all bitterness. Winemaker's notes (Aug 2023)
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Château de Pierre Bise
René Papin is the third generation of this organically-farmed estate, having taken over from his father Claude. The estate now includes the Roche aux Moines, Clos Le Grand Beaupréau and Clos de Coulaine in Savennieres, as well as sites in Coteaux de Layon and Quarts de Chaume
The family describe their farming methods, which go beyond simple organics, as 'conservation agriculture' - the vineyards are grassed over and worked as little as possible to preserve and encourage microbial life. The estate's Japanese agronomist, Masanobu Fukuoka, also believes straw is good for the soil structure.
The valley of the Layon brings mists in the late autumn which favour the development of botrytis for the famous Chenin Blanc sweet wines. The Papins like to focus on getting the ripest and most botrytised grapes possible by harvesting non-stop for two months for the sweet wines, only taking the rot-affected grapes on each of several passes down each row of vines. For the dry wines they are looking for fully mature polyphenols and thin mature skins to add complexity and a pure intensity. The labour intensive processes continue in the winery, in prolonging the fermentations for as long as possible to achieve the greatest polymerisation of the polyphenols and greatest purity and freshness of expression in the wines. René has added larger foudres as well as some amphorae to futher refine the ageing process.
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