Producer: Les Vignes de Babass

Agnès and Sébastien Dervieux

Where?

The headquarters of Les Vignes de Babass are in Beaulieu-sur-Layon, the vineyard is in Rochefort-sur-Loire, and the winery is in Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay. All of this is located south of Angers, between the Loire and Layon rivers, but although the land is classified as Anjou, all of the estate's production is under the Vin de France appellation.

Terroir and Soils

The terroir is located on the last foothills of the Armorican Massif before the Paris Basin. It is a region of small hillsides; the nearby Loire exerts a strong influence, as does the ocean, which is about a hundred kilometers away. This is the gentle Anjou region, a land where life is good: the vines are neither too hot nor too cold. The distinctive feature of this region is the schist, which is sometimes degraded (forming clay) and undegraded in places. This terroir produces mineral wines, and the climate produces wines that are rather "fruity" and moderately full-bodied.

Plots and Grape Varieties

The plots, 4.2 hectares in production in the commune of Rochefort-sur-Loire, are all in one piece: 1.4 ha of Grolleau (cuvée Groll'n'roll); 0.9 ha of Cabernet Franc (cuvée Roc Cab'); 1.2 ha of Chenin (cuvées Nuée-Bulleuse, Brut, Joseph-Anne-Françoise, Navine, and My-Sweet-Navine); and 0.7 ha of Gamay, which will be harvested at the next harvest. This latest vintage, still unnamed, could be exclusive to Culinaries.

Growing Methods

Apart from the Chenins in the Joseph-Anne-Françoise vintage, all the vines were planted between 1956 and 1960, before Sébastien was born. These grape varieties are traditionally grown in Anjou.

The vines are all certified organic. Biodynamics was practiced between 2002 and 2007, but Babass currently works the soil during the green season to avoid competition from grass and applies minimal treatment. Harvesting is done by hand.

Vinification

In the winery, fermentation is natural and the wines are free of sulfur and other additives ("apart from the occasional drop of sweat," says Sébastien). The red wines, including some single-varietal wines, are macerated in whole bunches. The whites are slowly pressed using a vertical press. All the wines are aged in fiber vats and are neither filtered nor fined, simply racked as needed and without overdoing it.

The wines…

Sébastien says he makes grape wines, shaped by the vintage's climate, the terroir, the grape variety, and his decisions (good or bad). His approach is to avoid distorting this balance with magic powders that lead to standardization. His Cabernet Franc reds are round, peppery, and fleshy; his Grolleau reds, pure fruit, are fresh and easy to drink. For Chenin, the Nuée-Bulleuse is a Babass classic: a natural sparkling wine that's taut, refreshing, and straightforward.