This beautiful expression of Pineau d’Aunis comes from vines both young and old, planted over a complex blend of clay, limestone and silex. The grapes were fermented mostly as whole bunches for a couple of weeks before being pressed off to old barrels for a year of élevage. From a cool, classic vintage, this is light, bright, compact and elegant, with soaring notes of wild strawberry and cracked pepper. A wonderful expression of one of our favorite grapes.

Renaud Guettier - La Grapperie

In the quiet village of Bueil-en-Touraine, on the northern edge of the Loire, Renaud Guettier tends a handful of old vineyards that speak louder than he ever would. Trained as an agronomist with a focus on plant physiology, he approaches the work with both scientific precision and deep humility — letting the vines do most of the talking.

Since 2004, Renaud has slowly pieced together a patchwork of small, old parcels across the Coteaux du Loir, now totaling around five hectares of Chenin Blanc and Pineau d’Aunis, many vines pushing eighty years. The soils here — a mix of clay, flint, and limestone — give the wines their quiet power and detail. Everything is farmed organically, by hand, with a patience that borders on devotion.

In his cellar, carved directly into the limestone cliffs, Renaud works as simply as possible: hand-harvested fruit, manual pressing, gravity-fed movement, native yeast fermentation, and long aging in old barrels. Nothing added, nothing forced. The wines rest a year or two before bottling, gathering the kind of depth that only time can create.

The result is a lineup that feels both ancient and alive — wines with real presence and tension, built to last, but beautiful even now. La Grapperie isn’t about style so much as stewardship — a quiet, exacting conversation between land, vine, and hand.