Clément Poirel
In 2020, Clément Poirel took over two hectares of vineyards from none other than Jean-Francois Chéné (La Coulée d’Ambrosia), who until his last vintage in 2018 made wine in Beaulieu-sur-Layon. The best of his wines were among the absolute best in Loire, which tells us something about Jean-Francois’ abilities as a winemaker, but certainly also about the quality of the vineyards.
Today, Clément Poirel has taken over the helm and makes wine from same the vineyards and in the same cellar in southern Anjou – and quite frankly he does that extremely well. He has managed to find his own style, and the wines are vibrant and fresh but with an underlying seriousness and complexity. The reds made from Cabernet Franc and Grolleau are low in alcohol and high in drinkability, while his excellent Chenin that ages two years in barrels is full-bodied and serious. Clément also tops up his barrels meaning that his whites do not become oxidative unlike the wines of his predecessor.
In addition, Clément Poirel is deeply preoccupied with the interaction between man, earth and nature making him extremely focused in his vineyard work. Here he is guided by biodynamic principles while respecting nature’s cycle just as his predecessor. In the cellar, vinification continues down the same path with as little intervention as possible to allow the grapes and their terroir to express themselves in the best possible way.
