Les Vignes de l'Ange Vin, Les années folles 2023

Les Vignes de l'Ange Vin is the domain of legendary natural winemaker, artist and eccentric Jean-Pierre Robinot. After opening one of the first bars dedicated to natural wine in Paris, he returned to his home of Loire and took over steep hillside plots across appellations Jasnières and the Coteaux-du-Loir. Planted over a combination of limestone, red clay and flinty, silica-rich soils, the vines are tended to by hand using natural herbicides made from surrounding nettles and ferns. Vinification follows this gentle practise with grapes pressed slowly using no additional sulphites or preservatives. Les années folles 23 is a blend of Chenin Blanc and Pineau d'Aunis from the Jasnières vineyards. After pressing and must extraction the juice is fermented in stainless steel tanks. It then undergoes secondary fermentation, according to ancestral methods, in the bottle for 9 months. The resulting wine is a natural expression of the grapes, a pale cream colour with a touch of pink. A classic, brioche nose blends perfectly with a frothy mouthfeel and notes of hedgerow berries, slate and raw mushroom. Les années folles 23 would pair well with an appetiser of smoked trout vol-au-vent.