Sylvain Leest - 'Oh' Nice' - Pineau d'Aunis - Loire Valley, FR - 2021

Notes from the Winery/Importer

Few wines give more for less - and in the world of Natural, øø wines, it’s hard imagine a better value - or better values form a winemaker. Sylvani Leest's Pineau d'Aunis is the best we;'ve ever had from the varieatl, bar none. We're putting it in the wine club and there's no way the 10.5 cases we bought will last the month of June. Chill it, don't, do whatever feels right - this wine will let you know. It's just a screaming pure example of one of France's more under-appreciated grapes.

Notes on the Producer

Making wine simply, honestly, and sincerely, with grapes only. To do this, work the land, naturally. Whistle while working and dance while pruning (and prune late, of course...). In spring, work faster but fear frost; it's very stressful. Work early in the morning or late in the evening; it's less tiring. Take a few days, from time to time. Harvest the grapes by hand, singing and laughing. Press the bunches slowly, macerate for a long time and gently punch down the cap. Ferment patiently and rack at the right times. Bottle efficiently and in the cellar, wait patiently… My encounter with the vine dates back to the 2005 harvest, in Burgundy on the Côte de Nuits, in Gevrey Chambertin… There, François Perrot trusted me and passed on the rudiments of the trade, with lots of “we’ll see” and other “you have to hit the slack (the work, sic)”; I stayed there for three years, the habit was formed! Less than 10 years later, in 2014 (and after a few setbacks), the vineyard was established in Faverolles en Berry, on a 4.15-hectare plot. In the meantime, I worked for several winemakers, both organic, biodynamic, and conventional, along the banks of the Cher River, one of the cradles of the wine renaissance. The choice of organic farming was a natural one, made without the slightest hesitation from the very beginning. The vines were taken over from Jacques Nérault, a long-time resident of the village, who planted everything with his father, working the soil using traditional methods right from the planting stage, so that the vines would root deeply and seek out nutrients and water from the very depths of the soil… We are in Faverolles-en-Berry, 15 minutes from Beauval Zoo, on the edge of the Loire Valley, in the heart of the Valençay appellation, an unjustly overlooked vineyard with many assets. Of the dozens of hectares of vines that the village boasted fifty years ago, only about twenty remain… The gantries and unloading docks dot the landscape, remnants of a once-thriving activity that has now almost vanished. Our vineyard covers 4.15 hectares, planted with 13 local grape varieties: Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Rose, Côt (Malbec), Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Pinot d'Aunis, Grolleau, Orbois Blanc (Menu Pineau), Gamay Beaujolais, Gamay Chaudenay, Gamay Fréau, and Gamay de Bouze. We also cultivate table grapes, rootstock mother plants, hybrid vines (often prohibited in AOC wines), apple and pear orchards, and wild rose bushes. The vines are old, even very old (planted in the 1930s up to the 1990s)! All this on 3 very distinct plots, around Faverolles on the north side, with south-facing slopes, on stony clay soils which cover a thick layer of limestone… The vines thus have access to all the mineral elements necessary for their development. Our wines are alive; like all of us, they change over time! We strive for perfect grape ripeness; neither too ripe nor too underripe is the priority! High yields aren't necessarily the goal (although we're certainly happy when there are plenty of grapes…!); we prefer quality to quantity. To achieve this, we guide the vines rather than stimulate them, giving them the means to reach the end of their cycle in the best possible health. With beautiful, healthy grapes, winemaking can proceed naturally, and the indigenous yeasts can express themselves more easily. Pruning is done as late as possible, according to the old adage: prune early, prune late, nothing beats Mar's pruning. The vine shoots are shredded after being pulled and placed in windrows; this returns some of the so-called stable carbon to the soil, which will be absorbed over time by the action of microbial life… rapid decomposition indicates good organic activity. Before the first buds break, we spread organic fertilizer, which nourishes the soil and, in turn, the vines. With the arrival of warmer weather, we carry out the "green" work: bud thinning, hoeing, vine training, trellising. We also find time for layering (another name for layering or propagating – a very useful term for Scrabble players…). Let's not forget to go and "treat" the vines! In organic farming, we only use so-called contact products, which will have a preventive action; very concretely, we are mainly talking about sulfur and copper, to which we will add nettle and horsetail. So, this involves several steps, several applications; the first treatments are done very early, when the buds are tiny. At that point, we use a backpack sprayer and treat only the buds; at this stage, we use a nettle infusion and a good dose of sulfur. The first applications are the most important; if they are well-positioned and carried out correctly, the buds will be able to develop without too much risk of fungal growth; the nitrogen in the nettle infusion will also give them the strength to withstand the frosts that threaten them in early spring… After that, we check the weather forecast, making sure to treat before the rain, and if it doesn't rain, there's no need to treat. We aim to stimulate an environment that will balance itself, with the naturally occurring fauna and flora; we consider each individual for what it brings to the biotope: ivy, ants, ladybugs, the badger (which often feasts on table grapes before they are picked… badgers are clever!), pear trees in the middle of the rows of vines… After spending a lot of time and giving a lot of attention to the vines, we continue to pamper the grapes in the cellar, stimulating the indigenous yeasts present on the grapes and around us in the ambient air. Here again, our approach is to let things happen naturally, giving them the best possible conditions for success: controlling temperatures and the progress of fermentation, guiding the process, and trusting the grapes. We use fiberglass tanks to stay as close as possible to the fruit, and for the 2020 vintage, a little bit of oak. Fermentation can take time, a lot of time, but that doesn't matter—we have the time! Besides, we've chosen not to rush nature, and our wines arrive when they're ready… -Translated from Sylvain's Website Read more on Sylvain here

Grapes & Style

Pineau d'Aunis

Pineau d’Aunis is an old Loire red grape, still mostly found around Touraine, Loir-et-Cher, Coteaux du Loir, and Coteaux du Vendômois. Its “Pineau” name likely comes from the pine-cone shape of the bunches, similar to the origin of the name Pinot, while “Aunis” refers to the old French province.

In the glass, Pineau d’Aunis tends to make pale, lively, peppery wines. It’s often used for rosé or sparkling base wine, but the better red versions can be genuinely interesting — light in color and frame, but not flimsy, with freshness, spice, and sometimes a firmer tannic grip than expected. It’s an underrated Loire variety: historically important, not commonly planted nowadays, but capable of characterful wines when handled with care. We love Pineau d’Aunis.