Julien Delrieu is quietly making some beautiful wines from Chenin Blanc in the Loire Valley’s so-called “Black Anjou,” where vines grow on black schist. As is the case with other Anjou greats (Bernaudeau, Angéli, Leroy), Delrieu bottles his wines under the Vin de France banner, flouting regional rules. But don't let the humble appellation fool you, Pont Bourceau shines as bright as any Grand Cru. Recently, our own Rajat Parr went off about this bottling, saying how it reminded him of Richard Leroy's Montbenault Chenin. And if this isn't enough of an endorsement, some of the barrels for Pont Bourceau were formerly used in Bernaudeau’s cellar. And more still, the word on the street is that some grapes in Pont Bourceau come from a plot that neighbors a certain fabled vineyard with vines over 100 years old. (Wink, wink.) Lovers of Chenin, gather round. Tonight, we drink.
As Featured In
About Natural Wine
Great question! There are a lot of definitions for natural wine with the main term you'll hear being that it has had minimal intervention. To be more specific, our definition is that the wine must first be sustainably farmed, which typically means it was organically or biodynamically farmed.
Then, in the cellar the natural winemaking process has some differences as well! The wine is typically unfined, unfiltered, and goes through spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts. If you want to know more about what natural wine is, we have an entire guide under our reference section!
The short answer is that natural wine can taste like any other kind of conventional wine (we like to call these stealth natural wines) or it can taste quite a bit different, as production methods can vary and potentially be lighter, or in a style you've never had before (like orange, pet-nat or amphora).
The natural wine community is also more accepting of some qualities in wines that conventional would consider a flaw, like Brett, some oxidation, or volatile acidity. We would consider these in high amounts to also be a flaw, but in many cases a touch of these qualities can ultimately improve their flavor and texture and be happily accepted in a natural wine.
To find out more about what natural wine tastes like, check out our full blog and podcast on the topic here.
The short answer is, no! But many are. Glou-glou describes winesthat are easily chuggable, impossible to put the glass down, and seductively delicious! They tend to be young and fresh, designed to be drunk early with an average ABV of around 10%. Check out different styles or glou glou natural wine here on our site.