2 x Marie-Lise et Thomas Batardiere - Les Noëls de Montbenault Bottles in excellent condition Shipping with UPS or FedEx + 100% insurance Born in 1980 in Angers, Thomas Batardière was bitten by the wine bug in 2008 after graduating in anthropology and working as a cinematographer. Thomas is a doer, he doesn't sit still, fickle and passionate, he worked as a sommelier, and then, feeling the need to get closer to wine, he joined Château Yvonne in Saumur, quickly becoming Mathieu Vallée's right-hand man, while studying agriculture in Beaune. Alternating from white to red Anjou (limestone to shale), he finally struck out on his own in Rablay-sur-Layon in 2012, buying 2 Ha of his beloved Chenin but without any equipment or winery. He built his winery and his house right next to Richard Leroy, with whom he struck up a good friendship. Applying biodynamic principles from the start, Thomas continued to plant and buy his way up to 4ha (currently 3.3ha in production), enough to be independent and express himself. Most of its vineyards are located south of the River Layon, in Rablay, on sandy and stony soils with clay on shale: Chenin and Cabernet Franc (Clos des Noëls planted in 1932) are grown here, as is Grolleau, a very suitable grape for the area. His best Chenin plots, including the Clos des Cocus planted in 1968, are in the impressive Faye d'Anjou coteau (north of the Layon) clinging to shale bedrock. Thomas has a very individual take on Chenin, loving its finesse, acidity and ability to reflect terroirs, picking it early (ideally with an alcoholic potential of 12.5% and yields of 30-40hh), and fermenting and aging in small stainless steel vats to preserve purity His goal is to make wines without sulphur, rarely racking and working reductively on the lees, a complicated exercise and a topic often debated with Richard. "I'm pragmatic, not dogmatic, so if I have to add sulfur to save my wine I will," says Thomas, a confident and brilliant vigneron for whom we predict a great future.