COTEAUX DU LAYON BEAULIEU
2022 Les Rouannières Château de Pierre Bise
| Grapes | Chenin Blanc |
| Origin | France, Loire |
| Other | Certified Organic |
| Sub-district | Anjou |
| Village | Coteaux du Layon Beaulieu |
| ABV | 11.5% |
| Vineyard | Les Rouannières |
Les Rouannières is an area of Beaulieu-sur-Layon in the heart of Anjou. Rouannières is renowned for crumbling rocky outcrops, it is an arid and wild part of the region with a unique microclimate enhanced by a remarkable reserve of plant life; about sixty Mediterranean plants are found here, at their most northerly limit in Europe. The mountain cicada, a family of eagles and a few rare butterflies have also made their home here. It is known particularly for giving wines with a defined mineral personality, aromatic liveliness, from the weathered clay, which has great resistance to drought allowing wines of real finesse and the development of excellent botrytis thanks to the proximity of the Layon river. L&S (Mar 2024)
| 12 | ||
*Case price discount: Mix any 12 bottles of wine (or 9 litre equivalent) or 6 bottles of Champagne, Spirits, Sweet Wine or Fortified (4.5 litres) to get the discounted 'case price' for each bottle.
In 2022 there was no problem achieving good botrytisation and concentration, and it shows in the aromatic profile, which compared to the fruit-led profile of the 2020 vintage presents a more polished and confident array of aromas, a tightly knit aromatic profile filled out with crème caramel, grilled peaches and vanilla cream. All very Pierre-Bise. The palate wraps all this up in a polished and seamless texture, with great substance and considerable weight, supported by pithy energy, a light phenolic bitterness, charming acidity and great length. A super composition, impressive and with potential for the cellar. The residual sugar is 155 g/l and the alcohol on the label is 11.5%. Rating: 94 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Aug 2024)
Château de Pierre Bise
René Papin is the third generation of this organically-farmed estate, having taken over from his father Claude. The estate now includes the Roche aux Moines, Clos Le Grand Beaupréau and Clos de Coulaine in Savennieres, as well as sites in Coteaux de Layon and Quarts de Chaume
The family describe their farming methods, which go beyond simple organics, as 'conservation agriculture' - the vineyards are grassed over and worked as little as possible to preserve and encourage microbial life. The estate's Japanese agronomist, Masanobu Fukuoka, also believes straw is good for the soil structure.
The valley of the Layon brings mists in the late autumn which favour the development of botrytis for the famous Chenin Blanc sweet wines. The Papins like to focus on getting the ripest and most botrytised grapes possible by harvesting non-stop for two months for the sweet wines, only taking the rot-affected grapes on each of several passes down each row of vines. For the dry wines they are looking for fully mature polyphenols and thin mature skins to add complexity and a pure intensity. The labour intensive processes continue in the winery, in prolonging the fermentations for as long as possible to achieve the greatest polymerisation of the polyphenols and greatest purity and freshness of expression in the wines. René has added larger foudres as well as some amphorae to futher refine the ageing process.
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