LA COULEE D'AMBROSIA
France, Anjou

Jean-Francois Chéné started in 2005 by making a partial recovery of the family vineyards on Beaulieu sur Layon in Loire. Coming from a family of vignerons he didn’t really like the conventional wines but fortunately he became friends with the guys from Les Griottes when he did his wine-school training. His aim is to respect the life of the soil in order to maintain the balance of the vine and thus the balance of the wine. His 4 hectares consists of Grolleau, Cabernet Franc and Chenin mainly located on hillsides on schistose soils. The focus is on the work in the vineyard where everything is done according to biodynamic principles with respect for the nature's cycle. He does the least possible intervention on the wines and through various vinification choices he tries to offer different aromatic facets from the grapes. Not adding sulfites he says the thing is to make long élevages, then the wine itself will find its balance. The wines has a deep fruity style, often with oxidation and high minerality.