2020 Jean-Pierre Robinot Le Regard

WINEMAKER: Jean-Pierre Robinot
REGION: Loire Valley, FR
VARIETAL: Pineau d'Aunis
VITICULTURE: Organic/Biodynamic

If you read the description of the Lumière des Sens above then you will know that we are very keen on wines made from the Pineau d’Aunis grape variety due to the finesse of the grape, the lovely tannins that give the wine structure and the slight herbal bitterness at the end of the palate that is characteristic of wines made from this grape variety. The only difference between the Lumière des Sens and the Le Regard is that the Regard was matured in a fibreglass tank rather than wooden barrels. As with the Lumière des Sens there are no added sulphites in this wine which (as you can see from the label) has a balanced 13% alcohol. Regard was fermented with whole bunches and then aged in fibreglass tanks for about nine months before being bottled and rested for some time before release.

Not many winemakers have a cult following much like Robinot. After falling in love with wine at 22 years of age over a bottle of 1964 Cheval Blanc, Jean-Pierre soon opened one of Paris' first natural wine bars (L’Ange Vin), followed by creating one of France's most influential wine magazines (Le Rouge et le Blanc). Eventually leaving Paris to buy a vineyard with his wife Noella, the wines of Robinot are some of the most highly sought after in the world. Long, natural ferments, extended élevage, both sometimes years, always without additions of any kind. Super limited.