Domaine Sérol - 'Espiègle' - Chenin Blanc - Côte Roannaise, Loire Valley, FR - 2022

Variety: Chenin Blanc Terroir: From Limoux on high altitude limestone plateaus. Viticulture: Purchased grapes from a family friend, certified organic. Vinification: Ancestral method. Ambient yeast fermentation starts in concrete tank and continues in bottles. At 2 g/l or less residual sugar, the wine is filtered and re-bottled with a small dosage of SO2 (< 25 ppm total SO2 at release).

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Certified Organic

The Côte Roannaise may be little known but the wines stand out boldly and speak for themselves, whether it's the luscious, off-dry sparkling gamay "Turbullent," the delicate and precise bone dry still rosé "Cabochard", or the dense and spicy south -eastern exposed single parcel "Oudan". Technically part of the Loire Valley but actually much closer to Beaujolais, it is 50 km west of Morgon in the Monts de Madeleine, close to the Loire River's source in the Massif Central. Gamay reigns supreme in this high elevation site perched on a vein of granite, and the domaine's myriad single parcels capture nuanced expressions of place and make for extremely compelling wines.

The domaine dates back to the 18th century, Stéphane is the 5th generation to work this land and he and his wife Carine have done much to elevate the recognition of their appellation, Gamay Saint Romain - the locally adapted version of Gamay native to the area, and they have also done much to spread the good practice word about responsible farming. Today they have close to 30 hectares, the oldest vines are 80 years old and, the domain is certified organic and in the process of converting parcel by parcel to Demeter certification.

The domaine is devoted to the locally adapted Gamay Saint Romain, densely planted (9000 vines per hectare) over a number of high elevation parcels with varying exposures. Gamay Saint Romain tends to have smaller bunches and berries that are more prone to millerandage or being shot than the more commonly planted Gamay à jus noir. This often translates to a more concentrated expression of the fruit.

The high vine density allows them to keep yields per vine low and quality very high. It's a vineyard management philosophy that encourages vines to grow their root systems deep as the vines compete with each other for limited water and nutrients and the character of the fruit is driven by the subsoil.

Stéphane has expanded and modernized his father's cellar so that he is able to vinify each parcel separately in cement tanks. This allows him to adapt to each parcel's needs and perfectly capture those distinctive qualities in each individual cuvée.