Thomas Puechavy ‘Les Turbulents’ Pétillant Blanc 2022

$46.00

Location: France, Loire

Winemakers: Thomas Puechavy

Grapes: Chenin Blanc 

Soil: Clay, limestone

Winemaking: The vines that produce this wine are sandwiched between those of Huet and Foreau, the two most famous estates in Vouvray. The terroirs here are Vouvray's typical clay and limestone, but this area is reknown for having much less claythan other sectors in the appellation, therefore providing optimal drainage and imparting chalky minerality to the wines.

Because Thomas' cellar is a mere 500 meters outside of the delineated zone permitted to make Vouvray, he can only apply for Touraine AOC status. In such he's decided to intentionally declassify all his wines to Vin de France.

The grapes are direct-pressed. After a partial fermentation in fiberglass tank, the wine is bottled with a crown cap; the remaining sugars continue to ferment in bottle, with the trapped C02 giving the wine a natural effervescence. After 12 to 18 months of aging sur lattes, the wine is disgorged and re-sealed with a crown cap before release. 

From the Importer Louis/Dressner: Thomas Puechavy was born and raised in Paris. For most of his adult life he played harmonica, accordion and jew's harp in the band Moriarty (while it's possible you've heard of them, they remain a BIG DEAL in France/Europe since their formation in the mid-aughts. Denyse Louis is a fan and thinks you should check out the singer Rosemary's solo stuff…) Like many musicians we know, Thomas fell in love with food and wine during his extensive bouts of touring. In 2016, he decided to take the plunge into wine, studying viticultureand enology in Amboise. His original plan was to work as an apprentice in various regions of France, eventually settling somewhere warm like the Languedoc,where he'd work for someone else while comfortably tending a small plot of his own.

The first part of this plan worked, sort of. While working in the Loire, Thomas' boss at the time introduced him to a vigneron who owned 10 hectares of land in Vouvray. He was looking to retire and adamant his vines not be worked or purchased by someone already established in the area. It was an interesting proposition, but Thomas was asked to take over all 10 hectares. It was too much on his own; fortunately Puechavy knew of two other upstarts who were looking to start small estates of their own. The three split the land, and in 2018 Thomas began renting 3.5 hectares in the village of Vouvray, producing his first vintage in 2019.

To say Puechavy lucked out with his land is an understatement: these terroirs are as good as it gets. The vines are sandwiched between those of Huet and Foreau, the two legendary, defining estates of Vouvray. The vines, planted exclusively in Chenin Blanc,grow on clay and limestone and are roughly 25 to 80 years old. The specificity of the terroir is that it's much more limestoneheavy than other parts of Vouvray, resulting in great drainage and unparalleled minerality. The prior owner worked them conventionally, so Thomas is in the process of converting them to organics.

So far he has been very gentle with working the soil, as he does not want to damage roots that may still be at superficial levels after years of conventional farming. He's also exploring the idea of cover-crops and will most certainly replant certain plots of very old vines that barely yield fruit. As an aside, it doesn't hurt that Huet and Foreau both have been practicing organics and biodynamics for a long time and are Thomas' only neighbors.

Puechavy was also lucky to find a house built next to a large quarry ideal for wine production in Nazelles-Négron. One catch though: while Nazelles is technically within the limits allowed to vinify Vouvray,Thomas lives 500 meters OUTSIDE of the delineated border! The appellation being notoriously strict with its zoning (we recommend reading this article for context), Puechavy is only allowed to label his wines as AOC Touraine; in such he's decided to declassify them all to Vin de France. It felt like was an unfair disadvantage ar first, but over the years (and in spite of working some of the best terroirs in the Loire) he's come to embrace this unique, slightly absurd standing.

Work in the cellar is straightforward. Thomas divides the grapes between younger and older vines, which are then direct-pressed to ferment and age in barrel or stainless steel. From the younger vines, two wines are produced: "Les Vrilles" which is vinified and aged in stainlessand "Rayon Blanc", which ferments and ages in old barrels and is bottled 14-16 months after it was harvested. From the old vines, a wine called "Les Doyennes" is produced with an extra year of elevage in barrel, bottled 26-28 months after harvest.A pétillant naturel called "Les Turbulants" is also made from the younger vines, partially fermenting in fiberglass before continuing in bottle. Puechavy lets the wines ferment naturally and does not filter or fine. When it comes to S02, for the time being he remains pragmatic: the goal is to not use any if possible, but Thomas is not averse to adding sulfur at any point he feels the wines need them. This has varied vintage to vintage, cuvée to cuvée.

Having only started in 2019, we cannot wait to see the wines' evolution as the land recovers from its organic conversion and Thomas gains more insight/ experience in the vines and cellar. The wines are already unmistakably " Vouvray " and resonant of their fantastic terroir. We're not going to bullshit you and say they are in the same league as Foreau or Huet, but connaisseurs should find parallels in the wines' structure. VDF's like no other!

Location: France, Loire

Winemakers: Thomas Puechavy

Grapes: Chenin Blanc 

Soil: Clay, limestone

Winemaking: The vines that produce this wine are sandwiched between those of Huet and Foreau, the two most famous estates in Vouvray. The terroirs here are Vouvray's typical clay and limestone, but this area is reknown for having much less claythan other sectors in the appellation, therefore providing optimal drainage and imparting chalky minerality to the wines.

Because Thomas' cellar is a mere 500 meters outside of the delineated zone permitted to make Vouvray, he can only apply for Touraine AOC status. In such he's decided to intentionally declassify all his wines to Vin de France.

The grapes are direct-pressed. After a partial fermentation in fiberglass tank, the wine is bottled with a crown cap; the remaining sugars continue to ferment in bottle, with the trapped C02 giving the wine a natural effervescence. After 12 to 18 months of aging sur lattes, the wine is disgorged and re-sealed with a crown cap before release. 

From the Importer Louis/Dressner: Thomas Puechavy was born and raised in Paris. For most of his adult life he played harmonica, accordion and jew's harp in the band Moriarty (while it's possible you've heard of them, they remain a BIG DEAL in France/Europe since their formation in the mid-aughts. Denyse Louis is a fan and thinks you should check out the singer Rosemary's solo stuff…) Like many musicians we know, Thomas fell in love with food and wine during his extensive bouts of touring. In 2016, he decided to take the plunge into wine, studying viticultureand enology in Amboise. His original plan was to work as an apprentice in various regions of France, eventually settling somewhere warm like the Languedoc,where he'd work for someone else while comfortably tending a small plot of his own.

The first part of this plan worked, sort of. While working in the Loire, Thomas' boss at the time introduced him to a vigneron who owned 10 hectares of land in Vouvray. He was looking to retire and adamant his vines not be worked or purchased by someone already established in the area. It was an interesting proposition, but Thomas was asked to take over all 10 hectares. It was too much on his own; fortunately Puechavy knew of two other upstarts who were looking to start small estates of their own. The three split the land, and in 2018 Thomas began renting 3.5 hectares in the village of Vouvray, producing his first vintage in 2019.

To say Puechavy lucked out with his land is an understatement: these terroirs are as good as it gets. The vines are sandwiched between those of Huet and Foreau, the two legendary, defining estates of Vouvray. The vines, planted exclusively in Chenin Blanc,grow on clay and limestone and are roughly 25 to 80 years old. The specificity of the terroir is that it's much more limestoneheavy than other parts of Vouvray, resulting in great drainage and unparalleled minerality. The prior owner worked them conventionally, so Thomas is in the process of converting them to organics.

So far he has been very gentle with working the soil, as he does not want to damage roots that may still be at superficial levels after years of conventional farming. He's also exploring the idea of cover-crops and will most certainly replant certain plots of very old vines that barely yield fruit. As an aside, it doesn't hurt that Huet and Foreau both have been practicing organics and biodynamics for a long time and are Thomas' only neighbors.

Puechavy was also lucky to find a house built next to a large quarry ideal for wine production in Nazelles-Négron. One catch though: while Nazelles is technically within the limits allowed to vinify Vouvray,Thomas lives 500 meters OUTSIDE of the delineated border! The appellation being notoriously strict with its zoning (we recommend reading this article for context), Puechavy is only allowed to label his wines as AOC Touraine; in such he's decided to declassify them all to Vin de France. It felt like was an unfair disadvantage ar first, but over the years (and in spite of working some of the best terroirs in the Loire) he's come to embrace this unique, slightly absurd standing.

Work in the cellar is straightforward. Thomas divides the grapes between younger and older vines, which are then direct-pressed to ferment and age in barrel or stainless steel. From the younger vines, two wines are produced: "Les Vrilles" which is vinified and aged in stainlessand "Rayon Blanc", which ferments and ages in old barrels and is bottled 14-16 months after it was harvested. From the old vines, a wine called "Les Doyennes" is produced with an extra year of elevage in barrel, bottled 26-28 months after harvest.A pétillant naturel called "Les Turbulants" is also made from the younger vines, partially fermenting in fiberglass before continuing in bottle. Puechavy lets the wines ferment naturally and does not filter or fine. When it comes to S02, for the time being he remains pragmatic: the goal is to not use any if possible, but Thomas is not averse to adding sulfur at any point he feels the wines need them. This has varied vintage to vintage, cuvée to cuvée.

Having only started in 2019, we cannot wait to see the wines' evolution as the land recovers from its organic conversion and Thomas gains more insight/ experience in the vines and cellar. The wines are already unmistakably " Vouvray " and resonant of their fantastic terroir. We're not going to bullshit you and say they are in the same league as Foreau or Huet, but connaisseurs should find parallels in the wines' structure. VDF's like no other!