France

At his family's Anjou estate Château de la Saulaie, under-the-radar talent Rémi Pivert is building a reputation for exceptional value wines made under the Perray-Jouannet label.Since 2018, Rémi has revived this Loire Valley patchwork of quartz and limestone parcels with diligent organic farming and sélection massale – a process of replanting using cuttings from the best old vines. He now farms 19ha of traditional Loire varieties, including Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Grolleau Noir and Gamay. Fermented with native yeasts and aged in either stainless steel or barrel for a minimum of a year, his wines are bottled without additional sulphites.From younger vines grown on gravel soils close to the Bonnezeaux appellation, 'Les Sables' is a beautifully pure and crystalline expression of Chenin Blanc. The estate's flagship white – Anjou Blanc – comes from a south-facing quartz vineyard and is aged for 15 months in oak barrels: textural and vibrant, it combines spicy fruit with saline minerality. A blend of Cabernet Franc, Gamay, and Grolleau, 'Les Jardins' Rouge spends a year in barrel, resulting in brambly fruit layered with tobacco and herbs.

Perray-Jouannet

Wines

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