Description
VARIETY: Pinot Noir, Grolleau, Gamay
HARVEST: hand picked; Pinot noir picked first, followed by Gamay and Grolleau one week apart.
VINIFICATION: Pinot noir was pressed directly in a pneumatic press whilst the two other grape varieties were vatted first and then juice was run off after 24h of maceration. The musts were fermented in stainless steel and then blended prior to a light filtration and bottling in mid-March.
In 2022 Marc Houtin, geologist and partner at La Grange aux Belles, and Daniel Craker, former cellarmaster, and importer in Bordeaux joined together to start Les Vignes du Fresche. Their intention is to make wines that reflect the vintage and their land, on the hills of the Coteaux de la Loire in Anjou. They farm 27 hectares of vines, all situated on a plateau 93m above sea level, south of the Loire river, on sandy clay soils on a bedrock of black schist typical of the Anjou noir. The vines have been farmed organically since 2000. Marc and Daniel are committed to working sustainably and improving the estate.
After their first harvest, they planted over a hundred trees amongst the vineyards to provide diversity and protection for the vines. They have also reduced grubbed up some tired vines, to leave grassland for the introduction of horses and sheep to the estate. They will use horses to work in Clos le Grand Bézillé, and sheep to maintain the grass during the winter months and in early spring. They also work sustainably in their small winery: they collect rainwater and have plans to build a more energy efficient winery with solar panels to cover their daily energy needs outside harvest time. They bottle using extra-light glass. The wines are clean and juicy, fermented with natural yeasts and no additives apart from a touch of sulphur to ensure the wine remain stable.
