Alcohol: 14,5%
Grape(s): Pinot Noir, Gamay
Localization: Cheverny, Loire, France
Tasting Notes: It is so lively it feels like there's a gymnastics class going on in your mouth. Full of vibrant red fruit scents: think cherries and strawberries, there's also a serious side here. It might be Hervé's entry-level cuvée but a lot is going on - you'll notice thyme and licorice notes join the fruit after you give the wine a moment in your mouth.
Notes: The wine was naturally fermented and macerated for fifteen days, and aged in old oak barrels. This is hands-off winemaking, as natural and simple as possible, to allow the grape to shine. Sandy clay Silex and Limestone soils.
Food pairing: The perfect red for spring and summer nights outside by the BBQ.
The Domain: Hervé Villemade adopted organic farming and natural winemaking practices in the 90s, for his 22 hectares of vines in the Cheverny appellation of the Loire. His vineyards are planted to Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Menu Pineau, Romorantin, Côt, Pinot Noir, Gamay, and Chenin Blanc. Soils here divide roughly between sandy flint and clayey-flint. Vines are spaced relatively wide at two meters, and even wider for the older vines that comprise the historical heart of the estate.
As he’s expanded over the years, his chief concern has been minimizing frost risk. It was frost losses impelled him, in 2002, to partner with sommelier-turned-winemaker Olivier Lemasson to find Les Vins Contés, a négoçiant business that Lemasson continued after the pair parted ways in 2006. Villemade founded his own négoçiant company in 2008, which he continues to this day. Not all purchases have organic certification, although he emphasizes that all grapes are farmed organically.
Buy 6 bottles of regularly priced (not on sale) wines and receive 5% off.
Buy 12 and receive 10% off.
Email sale wines do not combine nor count towards the above discount.
We would consider all wine to be "Natural". The term "Natural Wine" has the connotation of lacking a touch with nature. The winegrowers we champion are those who are farmers first. They seek to capture the uniqueness of the site (terroir) in the purest way possible. The product is as pure as possible and without wine-making flaws (brettanomyces, mercaptans, volatile acidity, etc.
Raw, in this case, we define as realistic and not manipulated. The winemakers use the least amount of intervention as possible. Wine should be made in the vineyard, not the cellar. The winemaker's job is to get the wine into the bottle in the purest form possible. There are additives that go into making wine, some are essential and some are not. Wines in this category do not have extra additives. They are free of added sulfur, or have the most minimal amounts possible in order to provide shelf stability for the consumer to experience the wine as the winemaker intended it to be.
