L'Enchanteresse Red 2022

L'Enchanteresse Red 2022

La Grapperie

L'Enchanteresse, by its name, sets the bar very high and has nothing to be ashamed of, and for good reason: it's an organic (Ecocert) and natural red wine from the Coteaux du Loir, 100% Pineau d'Aunis and classified as a Vin de France. It is produced by Renaud Guettier of La Grapperie without chemical additives or added sulfites.

Vinification

It is on a terroir of flint clay on limestone, at an altitude of 100 meters, that the fifty-year-old Pineau d'Aunis vines grow, pruned in a goblet shape, from which the aptly named L'Enchanteresse is produced. The Pineau d'Aunis is harvested at full maturity, sorted and then macerated for four weeks in truncated oak vats with punching down by foot. Fermentation takes place naturally using indigenous yeasts, without any oenological additives in order to preserve the purity of the grapes and the expression of the vintage and the soil. All work on the musts and wines is done by gravity. L'Enchanteresse is aged for thirty-six months on lees, without racking or stirring, in demi-muids in cellars dug into the tuffeau stone. Bottled without filtration or the addition of sulfites.

Tasting

A very intense nose of black fruits extends into a beautiful volume in the mouth, very velvety and fruity, and the length leaves one thinking. Renaud Guettier did not name it L’Enchanteresse for nothing. A cuvée of old vines, this Pineau d’Aunis has excellent aging potential. You will open it alongside red meat, a stew, calf’s head in turtle sauce, or fish matelotes in red wine. He will also appreciate charcuterie, cured meats, and roast lamb.

Learn more about Renaud Guettier and La Grapperie

In the Coteaux du Loir appellation, La Grapperie is the name of the estate of Renaud Guettier, who can be described as a master of Chenin, but also of Pineau d'Aunis, which is one of the oldest grape varieties in the Loire Valley.

The estate

Renaud's 60 hectares of hillside vines are protected from the north winds by the Bercé forest. Depending on the altitude, the terroirs are predominantly clay, flint, or sand. The grape varieties are the two traditionally authorized varieties in the appellation: Chenin for the whites and Pineau d'Aunis for 90% of the reds, the rest consisting of a few ares of Côt, Gamay, and Grolleau. Some vines are more than a hundred years old.

In the vineyard and the winery

The entire estate is organically cultivated. The soils are worked and all viticultural interventions are manual, including the harvest, carried out at full maturity, which is reflected in the fullness and smoothness of the wines. For the reds, the Pineaux d'Aunis are partially destemmed (depending on the plot) and the macerations are quite long, three to four weeks, with punching down, to promote aging potential. The wines are aged in barrels for between twelve and twenty-four months, then racked, blended, and bottled without filtration. For the whites, the Chenins are pressed directly at low pressure and then put into barrels with complete malolactic fermentation, for at least eighteen months, including malolactic fermentation, and sometimes up to thirty-six months.