PRODUCER: Clos Galerne
REGION: Anjou, Loire, France
WINEMAKER: Cédric Bourez, Myrtille Bourez
Le Clos Galerne is the creation of idealists, a winemaking family who relocated here to search out the best terroirs and make their own wine. Eleven hectares of the finest tiny parcels of Anjou are now owned and farmed by Cédric and Myrtille Bourez, alongside their four children.
WINERY HISTORY
After years spent searching for the right home, Cedric Bourez and his family fell in love with Anjou in 2018. Establishing their domaine in the village of Rochefort-sur-Loire, they focus on the production of Chenin Blanc. The name Le Clos Galerne is a reference to the ‘Virée de Galerne,’ a military operation during the French Revolutionary Wars. Thousands of civilians, women, children and the elderly crossed the Loire near Anjou from September to December 1793, only after having travelled thousands of kilometres in harsh winter conditions, fighting the same brutal ‘gwalarn’ (northwest wind) that whistles through the vines during hours of winter pruning.
VITICULTURE & WINEMAKING
Viticultural idealists, the family’s twelve hectares – spread across the regions of Pierre Bise, Beaulieu-sur-Layon, Savennieres, and Chaume – are farmed organically. Minimal tillage is used in the vineyards to allow the natural cover crop to grow, providing organic matter and nutrients to the vines. The different sites are a succession of old vine plantings facing the Layon River, rooted in a volcanic mix of schist and spilite at the edge of the Armorica. Harvest is done entirely by hand, protecting the delicate nuances of the fruit.
Vinification is simple, fermentation occurring naturally in either stainless steel or large, old oak barrels. All wines go through malolactic conversion, with the Chenins ageing sur lie. Balade en Chenin comes from 25-year-old vines and is a stainless-fermented cuvée of parcels in Pierre Brise and Beaulieu-sur-Layon. Savennieres comes from a 2ha plot on shale and sandstone, with notes of slightly candied citrus and a sharp minerality. Exspecto - a miniscule 0.35ha site of old vines - produces rich, ample, and intense wines that receive a 12-month élevage in old barrels. Les Rouannieres comes from dark volcanic soils, where the forty-year-old vines create a firm, concentrated wine with stellar aging potential. Quarts de Chaume is characterised by a beautiful balance of sweetness and acidity, grown in shallow soils of rhyolite, delighting with harmonious notes of apricot and honey. The Anjou Noir comes primarily from spilite terroir, mostly Cabernet Franc with just a kiss of richness from 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.
GRAPE VARIETIES
Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Franc
