Region: Loire Valley, France
Appellation: Anjou
Color/Style: Red
Grapes: Cabernet Franc

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.

Les Rouliers comes from old Cabernet Franc grown on the schist slopes of Faye d’Anjou. Whole-cluster fermentation and élevage in used French oak give the wine depth while preserving its fresh red and black fruit, violet, spice, and fine tannins. The warm 2020 vintage brings concentration and ripeness, balanced by the freshness and precision characteristic of Courault’s wines.