Region: Loire Valley, France
Appellation: Anjou
Color/Style: White Wine
Grapes: Chenin Blanc

Benoît Courault is one of Anjou Noir’s most distinctive natural vignerons, farming 6.5 hectares in Faye d’Anjou on poor schist and quartz soils. Raised in a family of horse breeders, he came to wine through a career as a sommelier before training in Burgundy and spending several years at Domaine de l’Anglore with Eric Pfifferling. Since returning to Anjou in 2005, he has rebuilt his domaine around organic farming, biodiversity, horse-plowing, and carefully selected massale plant material.

In the cellar, Courault favors spontaneous fermentation, used barrels and foudres, and minimal sulfur, while maintaining rigorous hygiene and close attention to every wine. His background as a taster gives his natural wines an unusual degree of precision and control. The result is a range that moves from deep, age-worthy Chenins and Cabernet Francs to younger, vibrant wines made from Grolleau and Pineau d’Aunis.

Empreinte is a Chenin Blanc raised in foudre, combining white stone fruit, herbal notes, almond, and a rounded texture with bright acidity. The cool 2021 vintage gives the wine additional freshness and definition. Spontaneously fermented and minimally handled in the cellar, it is a precise, textural expression of Chenin from Anjou Noir.

This is the second release of the same vintage, the first was a primeur, this one was aged for an additional 6 months in oak casks (12 months total). Lots of aromas, dense and deep wine.