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Les Jardins de Theseiis ‘Jardin de la Grande Pièce’ Rouge 2020
Location: France, Loire, Touraine
Winemaker: Anouk Lavoie-Lamoureux & Paul-André Risse
Grapes: Gamay
Soil: Clay-limestone
Winemaking: Fermentation in fiberglass vats, 80% destemmed, 15 days of maceration. Assembly of press juice and free run juice before barreling. Barrel aging 10 months.
From Lennie at M&L: ‘Jardin de la Grande Pièce’ is named for the lieu-dit La Grande Pièce, from which they hand-harvest their Gamay. This is a more brooding, earthier Gamay, with deeper blackberry, pine needle and cigar flavors—ideal for stewed mushroom, wild bird and roasted squash dishes.
Anouk Lavoie-Lamoureux was living in Montreal, working as a trained biologist and respiratory disease researcher finishing her PhD, when she met Frenchman Paul-André Risse, who happened to be working on his postdoctorate in the same city—and they fell in love. Once they’d both graduated from their respective programs, they decided to follow their collective passion and make wine together. They were accepted to multiple viticultural education programs in France and Italy, specializing in vine physiology and yeast microbiology through biodynamics, which fit perfectly with their science background. They spent some years after traveling to find their own vineyards—working in the Okanagan, Haut-Médoc, and eventually, Anjou…
It was in Anjou they were introduced to the legend Mark Angeli of Ferme de la Sansonnière, who encouraged them to find vineyards nearby due to the plethora of inexpensive land and great terroir. They also happened to taste a wine from Bruno Allion of Domaine de Pontcher, a vigneron making wine in the village of Thésée in the Loir-et-Cher département. They adored his wine and met Bruno himself in 2016, and loved his vineyards just as much. Bruno introduced biodynamics in 1997, and his vines have been surrounded by fruit trees and vegetable gardens ever since. Bruno was already planning on retiring, and so it was a natural shift to bestow Anouk and Pierre-André with 5 hectares of vines, with another 1.5 hectares so that they could plant their own. Bruno worked with them for the ‘17 harvest, with the couple completing their first real vintage in 2018. They have continued in Bruno’s footsteps, with deep respect for his years of dedication and maintaining the highest standards in organic and biodynamic viticulture. They were also joined that first harvest by their first child, a little girl.
Anouk and Pierre-André named their domaine after Thésée, a tiny village dating back 2000 years to the Romans (there is a massive stone wall still standing outside the village that used to bear the the name ‘Theseiis’ in the 1500s). They wanted to pay homage to Bruno in the name, alluding to the fruit trees and vegetable gardens still present in the vineyards and the commitment to biodynamics.
Location: France, Loire, Touraine
Winemaker: Anouk Lavoie-Lamoureux & Paul-André Risse
Grapes: Gamay
Soil: Clay-limestone
Winemaking: Fermentation in fiberglass vats, 80% destemmed, 15 days of maceration. Assembly of press juice and free run juice before barreling. Barrel aging 10 months.
From Lennie at M&L: ‘Jardin de la Grande Pièce’ is named for the lieu-dit La Grande Pièce, from which they hand-harvest their Gamay. This is a more brooding, earthier Gamay, with deeper blackberry, pine needle and cigar flavors—ideal for stewed mushroom, wild bird and roasted squash dishes.
Anouk Lavoie-Lamoureux was living in Montreal, working as a trained biologist and respiratory disease researcher finishing her PhD, when she met Frenchman Paul-André Risse, who happened to be working on his postdoctorate in the same city—and they fell in love. Once they’d both graduated from their respective programs, they decided to follow their collective passion and make wine together. They were accepted to multiple viticultural education programs in France and Italy, specializing in vine physiology and yeast microbiology through biodynamics, which fit perfectly with their science background. They spent some years after traveling to find their own vineyards—working in the Okanagan, Haut-Médoc, and eventually, Anjou…
It was in Anjou they were introduced to the legend Mark Angeli of Ferme de la Sansonnière, who encouraged them to find vineyards nearby due to the plethora of inexpensive land and great terroir. They also happened to taste a wine from Bruno Allion of Domaine de Pontcher, a vigneron making wine in the village of Thésée in the Loir-et-Cher département. They adored his wine and met Bruno himself in 2016, and loved his vineyards just as much. Bruno introduced biodynamics in 1997, and his vines have been surrounded by fruit trees and vegetable gardens ever since. Bruno was already planning on retiring, and so it was a natural shift to bestow Anouk and Pierre-André with 5 hectares of vines, with another 1.5 hectares so that they could plant their own. Bruno worked with them for the ‘17 harvest, with the couple completing their first real vintage in 2018. They have continued in Bruno’s footsteps, with deep respect for his years of dedication and maintaining the highest standards in organic and biodynamic viticulture. They were also joined that first harvest by their first child, a little girl.
Anouk and Pierre-André named their domaine after Thésée, a tiny village dating back 2000 years to the Romans (there is a massive stone wall still standing outside the village that used to bear the the name ‘Theseiis’ in the 1500s). They wanted to pay homage to Bruno in the name, alluding to the fruit trees and vegetable gardens still present in the vineyards and the commitment to biodynamics.