Alexandre Giquel ‘Huit-Launay’ Rouge 2021

Location: France, Loire, Vouvray

Winemaker: Alexandre Giquel

Grapes: Pineau d’Aunis, Cabernet Franc

Soil: Clay, silex

From us at M&L: Scale. Human scale. Or, in this case, “what wine of abject beauty can one person and one horse produce?”

We met Alexandre Giquel last year, without ever having tasted his wines, and knew from the jump that he is special. Quiet, measured, and sincere without a shred of any cynicism or harshness. His wines have a similar lift, too, but do not mistake purity for simplicity or naïveté. Alexandre knows exactly what he is doing, and his wines show polish and potential while being immediately rewarding.

He was particularly pleased that the ‘22 vintage was bountiful compared to past harvests. He is gently expanding his repertoire while still staying focused on his precious 3 hectares of vines in Noizay, Vouvray.

From the Importer Selection Massale: Alexandre Giquel's domaine is just a little over 3 hectares, all organic and bio certified. These fall within two parcels in Vouvray, Clos Chapon (usually goes in "Gallus") and "Montcontour" around the castle of the same name. Alexandre works everything with horses, no tractors in his vineyards.
He crafts all the wines in a small troglodyte cellar in Noizay (within the Vouvray AOC as all vouvray has to be vinified and raised within the AOC). His project began in 2017 with the Huit-Launay négoce wines, which continues to this day to source organic fruit from around the Loire, and now includes Vouvray as well.