2023 Stéphane Bernaudeau "Les Coqueries" - Loire - 1 Bottle (0.75L)

The Loire Myth!!

Possibility to delay delivery in case of high heat upon request.

Delivery to Europe, guarded/insured package.

Intact bottle, kept in ideal conditions.

Stéphane Bernaudeau, former employee of Domaine Mark Angeli where he trained (La Ferme de la Sansonnière), today owns about 3.5 hectares of vines in Anjou, in the Martigné-Briand area. He settled there in 2000.

A devotee of the natural philosophy, the winemaker grows his vines alone with his wife Isabelle in a natural way (no certification). The Les Onglés plot covers 2 hectares, facing southwest. His flagship cuvée, Les Nourrissons, comes from the eponymous 1-hectare plot, planted in 1910 and taken over by another very well-known winemaker in the natural wine world – Eric Calcut. The cuvée Les Terres Blanches, meanwhile, comes from old 80-year-old vines. A final cuvée born in 2019 – Les coqueries – completes the domaine’s wines. His red wines are no longer produced (Les Vrilles, La Chantelée and La Bulette, a pétillant botrytized Gamay).

In the cellar, vinifications are non-interventionist to let the terroir and the Chenin Blanc grape express all their potential and without inputs, with only a little sulfur in very reasonable amounts.

His small production (about 6,000 bottles per year) enjoys strong success and his bottles are extremely hard to obtain as his cuvées reach a high level. The wines are distinguished by their depth, energy, and mineral note. We highly recommend the wines of this exceptional estate.

About the cuvée
2019 marks the first vintage of this cuvée born from a new plot acquired by Stéphane Bernaudeau in Thouarcé, a zone crossed by the Layon and dominated by hills adjacent to the hamlet of Bonnezeaux. The chenin grapes here are cultivated according to biodynamic principles, with great attention paid to soil and vine work.

Hand-harvested, the berries are vinified meticulously. Thus the fermentation is initiated by native yeasts and the vinification takes place in 15-hectoliter foudres or in 1- to 5-vineyards-influenced barrels. All of this contributes to creating a solar cuvée, with notes of citrus fruits, lime blossom, and a beautiful saline backbone that stretches long. A remarkable wine that will gladly pair with savory dishes such as a fine cheese board.