2020 Le Batossay Ouech Cousin Grolleau Noir

WINEMAKER: Baptiste Cousin
REGION: Loire Valley, FR
VARIETAL: Grolleau Noir
VITICULTURE: Certified Biodynamic

Back to the good old days of Ouech Cousin, an earlier picked and fresher example of this popular cuvee. Old vines of Grolleau macerated for 14 days and aged for 6 months in large format wood. Bottled in the spring with no adds.

Son of the famed natural winemaker Olivier Cousin, Baptiste is a young renegade in all senses of the word. With thanks to his fathers influence and guidance, Baptiste has truly come into his own as a winemaker and taken creative charge of his vision for Le Batossay. Armed with only a horse and plough, Baptiste symbolises everything that gets us excited about Loire Valley wines. In 2012 Baptiste was given a small plot of Chenin and Grolleau from his fathers vineyard holdings in the small village of Martigne Briand, Loire Valley. Since that point he has grown and now cultivates just under 10 ha vines. Gamay planted in 1996 on silty soil, Grolleau Gris planted in 1992 on silty clay soil, Chenin Blanc planted in 1955 on schist hillsides, Grolleau planted in 1974 on silty soil and Pinot Noir planted in 2003 on clay-limestone soil. Overall the black loam soils infused with deep beds of limestone and schist produce wines of concentration, flinty minerality and purity.

He is committed to working the land by hand, truly respecting the challenges of what nature gives him. Each day he takes his two draft horses along the road 2km's from his fathers cellar to work in the vineyards. Few are quite this committed. In the cellar he is as hands off as can be, never manipulating the wines and no sulphur is added at any point. His hard work and understanding of his surrounds translates into truly expressive and instinctual wines.