Gamay

Thierry and Jean-Marie Puzelat enjoy making wine, which is a good thing as they produce a lot of them, sometimes close to 30 different cuvées a year. They feel so many of their parcels offer something unique worth exploring in its own right. Some of their cuvées are made from rare local varieties on the verge of extinction such as Romarantin, Grolleau and Menu Pineau (a natural mutation of Chenin Blanc). Wines made from these grapes rarely gain AOC recognition and so are labelled Vin De France, one of the biggest disappointments of modern winemaking laws.

Another project by François de Nicolay of Côtes de Beaune, who works a few hectares of land in the famous Moulin-à-Vent appellation of Beaujolais, with the same philosophy and skills he uses in Bourgogne. No chemical interference spare the smallest amount of S02 prior to bottling.

Vigneron Christophe Foucher of La Lunotte never anticipated a wine career. He used to lend a hand from time to time in the vineyards belonging to his father in law on the South bank of the Cher River. After some years he quit his teaching job and enrolled himself to a school in Amboise to learn (and later unlearn!) the basics of classic vinification. Today he owns and rents a total of 5.5 ha across 7 plots in Touraine. Sauvignon Blanc accounts for 50% of plantings with some Menu Pineau, Gamay (including the dark skinned 'Gamay Bouze'), Côt and Cabernet Franc.

Catherine and Pierre Breton's reputation preceeds them wherever they go. They are true bonvivants, working with passion and integrity and inspiring those around them. Whilst Pierre and Catherine share the workload in the vineyard, in the winery Catherine makes her own cuvées under the label 'La Dilettante', or 'The Dabbler', which include the Chenin parcels and a little Cabernet Franc. Pierre vinifies the rest. They own 11 ha, spread across Bourgueil, Chinon and Vouvray which they converted to biodynamic relatively early on in 1994 (Demeter).

Cyril is a relative newcomer to Anjou, and he is part of the new-wave Angevin who arrived in the region and were offered support and knowledge from fellow vignerons Mark Angéli and Olivier Cousin. Cyril owns 3 plots across 3Ha in Thouracé, Aubigné and Malignant. Varieties are Grolleau, Gamay and Chenin Blanc which express pure fruit with a firm backbone of acidity. Cyril abandoned SO2 use in 2008 and hasn't looked back ever since.

Domaine Cosse Masionneuve is a marriage made in Côt-heaven. Seasoned vignerons Matthieu Cosse and Catherine Maisonneuve joined forces in 1999 to establish their 5 ha domaine, today close to 15 ha in Lacapelle-Cabanac near Cahors. In most of their wines, Côt is blended with a small percentage of Merlot to soften the wine and be good for drinking in its youth. Biodynamic methods were adopted from the start, before the release of their first cuvée Les Laquets. Catherine and Mattieu now seperate their parcels and vinify them all according to their respective terroirs.

Son of natural wine linchpin, Olivier, Baptiste Cousin has taken over the reigns of some of his fathers vineyards, predominantly the Gamay, Grolleau, with a small percentage of Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc. Baptiste is very much his father’s son, carrying on with the same natural traditions such as horse ploughing, biodynamic preparations and no additions of SO2.