2021 Domaine Bobinet Aunis
WINEMAKER: Sébastien Bobinet & Eméline Calvez
REGION: Loire Valley, FR
VARIETAL: Pineau d'Aunis
VITICULTURE: Organic/Biodynamic
Indigenous yeasts; Carbonic maceration for 20 days; Aged for 5 months in concrete vats; Unfiltered, no added SO2. Aunis is a special cuvée, very expressive and gourmet, with generous and persistent aromas of summer fruits and black pepper. This very light wine is delicately structured by beautiful fine and silky tannins which give it great "drinkability"!
There is no doubt that the natural wine movement has come of age in the Loire Valley, thanks in part to the work of Sébastien Bobinet and his partner, Eméline Calvez. Domaine Bobinet started in 2002, when Sebastien took over 1.8 hectares of vines and the cellar from his grandparents. He’s the 7th generation of a family of winemakers in the Saumur region of the Loire Valley. Sebastian has long been regarded as a star of the region, having worked with the likes of Olivier Cousin, the Foucoult Brothers of Clos Rougeard and Beaujolais forefather Jules Chauvet. It is however since 2011 when Emeline, a talent in her own right joined the domaine that Bobinets cult status has been cemented.
In addition to their winemaking talents the pair have been campaigning hard for better viticultural practices in the region. So In an effort to improve the biodiversity of the vineyards, they have helped to engage and unite the local wine community to name Saumur-Champigny as the first AOC in France to collectively decide on the reduction of chemical treatments.
The Domaine consists of seven hectares of old-vine Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc two of which are extremely old and were, inherited from Sebastian's grandfather. As well as their own vineyard they source small amounts of Gamay, Grolleau and Pinot D’Aunis from neighbouring organic vineyards. This progressive duo are still staunch traditionalists at heart, still preferring to work their limestone and clay soils with the help of a horse-drawn plow, through the old vines. Everything is done by hand A truly non-interventionist approach. Certain cuvees, such as “Hanami” undergo semi-carbonic maceration. The wines age in 330-L oak barrels for up to 18 months in the domaine’s caves, carved into the limestone riverbanks of Saumur. They bottle their wines unfined and unfiltered to allow the final product to express heightened aromatics and a stoney minerality characteristic of the Saumur terroir.