Benoît Courault ‘Empreinte’ Blanc NV (2021)

Location: France, Loire, Anjou

Winemaker: Benoit Courault

Grapes: Chenin Blanc

Soil: Ordovicien schistes locally called “schistes gréseux de Saint Georges” with veins of phtanites (a silica-rich sedimentary rock) and quartz

Winemaking: Vinified without temperature control in fiberglass vats, aged in the same vessels and without any sulfur additions. No fining and no filtration.

From us at M&L: ‘Empreinte’ is a brand new cuvée for Benoît! He purchased the grapes from a commune in Bonnezeaux. In flavor, almost a balance between the rich waxy structure of ‘Gilbourg’ and the fresh, citrusy-y minerality of ‘Guinechiens’. Ravishing yellow fruits, with a deep, dense texture like water from a still, savory mountain pond—quiet and powerful, this is a mountainous wine that will age exquisitely.

From the Importer Avant Garde: Benoît Courault is a young and established vigneron in Faye d’Anjou, a little village south of Angers along the Layon river. Not a son of a winemaker, early on, Ben decided to study wine. He went to Beaune. From 2003 until 2006, he worked with the famous vigneron Eric Pfifferling from Domaine L’Anglore in Tavel.

Back to his native Loire, he found 5ha of vineyards and started his estate in 2006. Benoit’s aim is to propose authentic wines of excellent quality produced with a constant concern for the natural balance of life cycles, a statement that you will find on his label “Vignes cultives dans le respect du vivant”.