Grapes: Chenin Blanc
Region: Savennieres, Loire, France
Vintage: 2023
Viticulture: Organic + Biodynamic
Soils: Schist
Vinification: Grapes are harvested in multiple passes to select grapes at perfect ripeness. After meticulous sorting, the grapes undergo a gentle press to get the best juice. The juice is then fermented and aged in barrel.
Aging: 12 months
Fining or Filtering: None
Sulfur: 20ppm at bottling
Notes from the Importer: Jean-Claude Taddei created Maison Jaune, “The Yellow House” in 2013, naming the estate after the old farmhouse overlooking vineyards of abandoned Pineau d’Aunis and Chenin Blanc. It had long been the aspiration for Jean-Claude and his wife, Lorine, to grow grapes and make wine, but as professors in Angers, they had little time to pursue such a dream. Then in 2013 at a dinner at one of their friends, destiny presented itself when Jean-Claude met a winegrower from Rochefort-sur-Loire who was retiring and looking for a buyer for a small parcel. This micro estate thus became Maison Jaune, comprised of 1.5 hectares of Pineau d’Aunis and Chenin on
grey and green schists. The 1.2 hectares of Chenin is bottled under the Savennieres
AOP located in the western lieu-dit of “Les Cendres,” however the Pineau d’Aunis is
bottled simply as Vin de France.
Jean-Claude and Lorine adopted organic farming and biodynamic principles from
the very beginning, eschewing all synthetic herbicides, fungicides, pesticides.
Further inspired by the late Japanese farmer, Masanobu Fukuoka, whose minimal-
interventionism approach to viticulture has been embraced by vignerons from Eric
Texier to Frank Cornelissen, Jean-Claude opts against plowing his vineyards to
preserve the mycelium grid, the network of fungal hyphae critical to optimal soil
health and nutrient absorption by the vines. Jean-Claude works his land like a
vegetable garden – maintaining a diverse crop of weeds, herbs, flowers and legumes.
The vineyards are surrounded by trees planted by Jean-Claude, in addition to hedges
and several bee hives. The only “weed control” is done magnanimously by the dozen
of sheep left to graze the vineyards year round. The sheep’s natural fertilization
is also the only allowed on the soil, again following the footsteps of Fukuoka who
contended that the more we act, the more we distrupt. The only organic treatment
used is copper and sulfur to combat mildew, however in quantities are kept below 1/3
of what is allowed within the organic certification. Green harvest is performed to
concentrate the grapes’ energy and increase complexity, resulting in a yield of around
25HL/hectare, despite the appellation regulations allowing up to 50HL/hectare.
Grapes are harvested in multiple passes to select grapes at perfect ripeness. After
meticulous sorting, the grapes undergo a gentle press to get the best juice; the Pineau
d’Aunis is manually de-stemmed and macerated for 10 days while the Chenin is a
direct press. Only indigenous yeasts are entrusted to ferment and as there is no
temperature control, fermentation will often stretch from a month to several. Jean-
Claude makes no additions at all during the vinification. Both cuvées will age in
used oak barrels for 12 months and will be bottled when the new vintage comes so
the barrels are never empty.
Eschewing fining or filtration, the only intervention Jean-Claude permits is a touch
of sulfites added at bottling (around 20ppm total) to ensure a purity and precision
of the wine, and to allow for longer aging in bottle (at least 10 years). The total
production is around 400 cases per vintage.
