Alexis Hudon - 'Groseille' - Gamay - Loire Valley, FR - 2022

@alexis_hudon

Notes from the Winery/Importer

“Groseille” comes from the Touraine area but is declassified into Vin de France. Alexis purchases the grapes in Saint-Aignan, Loire et Cher (east of Tours), from 6 parcels of young Gamay. • Grape: 100% Gamay • Production Details: • Harvested by hand • 3/4 direct press and 1/4 whole cluster maceration for 3 weeks without any punch down or pump over • Fermentation in fiberglass tank • Racking • 8 months of aging in fiberglass tank • Malolactic fermentation completed • Bottled without any filtration and with a touch of SO₂ • Region: Loire • Classification: AOP – Vin de France

•    Yeast: Indigenous
•    Fermentation Vessel: Fiberglass tank
•    Aging: Fiberglass tank (8 months)
•    Filtration: None
•    Fining: Never
•    Sulfites: 17 ppm total
•    Production: 500 cases
•    Vegan: Yes

Notes on the Producer

Alexis Hudon might be a newcomer in the Loire winemaking scene, but his early vintages situate him alongside the other legends of the region.

Young Québécois transplant Alexis Hudon worked as a sommelier, serving natural wines for ten years in Quebec City and Montreal before he moving to Paris in late 2013. In 2014, he worked his first harvest alongside Julien Guillot in Burgundy and Nicolas Reau in Anjou. After this first season, he went back to Paris to work as a floor manager and be immersed in the scene at Clamato and Coinstot Vino, two of the most famous natural wine restaurants in the city. In the late spring of 2015, Hudon left Paris to work full time with Lise & Bertrand Jousset in the Loire.
Hudon has passionately committed to the world of winemaking since then and established his own cellar space in 2019. Hudon does not own any vineyards but buys exclusively-organic fruit from his friends in the Touraine AOP. 80% of his grapes come from the village of Saint-Aignan and the other 20% from Montlouis-sur-Loire.
Alexis is more than simply purchasing fruit, rather he is working in the vineyards alongside the owners. He prunes the 4 hectares of land from where he sources his grapes, works the same soils, and harvests by hand with his team. He brings the grapes in small crates to his cellar in Bourges where he starts the vinification. Although he still helps his friends Jousset in the fields and cellar when necessary, Hudon released his first solo vintage in 2018 with 500 cases, a figure that tripled by the 2019 vintage.