Producer Christian Venier

FRANCE, LOIRE

In eastern Touraine, just downstream from Blois, the Sologne is a singular territory, which makes a bit of history in its own right. Endowed with an original terroir, mainly composed of sands and silica, but also of clay and limestone, it has long been characterized by a wide and peculiar ampelographic range, which makes it more varied than the somewhat monochord character of other areas of the valley of Loire. Here Christian Venier cut his teeth first by learning from his cousins ​​Thierry and Jean-Marie Puzelat, then gradually starting his own business starting in the 1990s. He had managed to cultivate almost 12 hectares of vineyards, but subsequently reduced the company area to select the best terroirs and dedicate himself with care and dedication to a more limited area, of about 7 hectares. Today he works with a strictly organic method - albeit deliberately not certified - various grape varieties: from Chardonnay to Sauvignon, from Gamay to Pinot noir, from Chenin blanc to Pineau d'Aunis. The yields are very low, to favor the maturity and quality of the grapes. In the cellar, oenological additives do not have the right of citizenship. The vinifications are carried out by indigenous yeasts and bacteria, both for alcoholic and malolactic fermentation. The wines take shape in containers of steel, concrete, fiberglass or wood, depending on the case; no forced clarification, no filtration. Sulfur dioxide is avoided whenever possible. The wines thus acquire a great expressive naturalness and an admirable finesse.