Sylvain Martinez: Shining Chenin - part umpteen

This (laughingly called) estate was founded in 2006 by Sylvain Martinez in the heart of Coteaux du Layon, but rather than seeking Anjou classification, Sylvain is content, as many natural winemakers are, with the simple vin de table moniker for his one wine.

Sylvain followed in the footsteps of his grandfather, a peasant farmer who worked the farm in polyculture and instilled in him a respect for the land.  He then worked his apprenticeship for various winemakers such as Mark Angeli (one of the original organic farmers in the Anjou appellation) and René Mosse (another prominent vigneron in the same region) before going his own way in 2006 and renting vineyards from Olivier Cousin with whom he also collaborated and learnt how to use horses for various vineyard activities. 

The vineyards themselves, on schistes gréseux, are solely planted with Chenin, cover a mere two hectares and contain eighty year vines. Yields are an incredibly minute ten hectolitres per hectare.

Horses, as mentioned, are used as much as possible for the work in the vineyard:  for instance they pull the crates from the vineyard to the winery. Post harvest they are employed to work the soil between the vines, pulling tools along to “earth up” the sides of each rows as well as tilling and helping to aerate the soil.  They do the same work in reverse before harvest. The grapes are harvested by hand and placed in small crates to avoid being damaged before arriving at the winery.

The pressing is very slow and soft in an antique press which has a wooden screw and wooden bars to let the juice run out.  Since everything is done by hand without the aid of electricity the whole process can – and does – take many hours, but the result is that the pressing is very gentle, producing a very clear, beautiful quality juice.

The temperature of fermentation is approximately 15°- 20°c.  There is no strict regulation of the temperature - alcoholic fermentation starts up naturally and, once the juice has been transferred into used oak barrels, lasts until winter, whereupon the cold temperature slows down the process. The arrival of the warmer temperatures in the spring (especially at the time of flowering) restarts the fermentation.  Malolactic is naturally triggered after the alcoholic fermentation.

The wine is matured for eight to twelve months in barrels used five times previously and then bottled without filtration or sulphur. A mere 500 bottles are produced.

The wine itself is called “Goutte d’O”; Sylvain wanted to bring to mind the importance of nature in his wine and the vital element of water.

Perhaps he was also thinking of “La chanson des vieux amants” by Jacques Brel:

Des éclats des vieilles tempêtes
Plus rien ne ressemblait à rien
Tu avais perdu le goût de l’eau
Et moi celui de la conquête.

The wine itself has everything I’m looking for from Chenin. Firstly, it conveys balance and tension; it would so easy for it to be alcoholic and overblown or just ridiculously concentrated. The long slow fermentation gives an expressive mouthfeel. Secondly, the minerality is very fine; it is not obvious, but contained within the fruit expression of the wine. It is a food wine, that acidity overlaid by dry chalkiness would be a good match for local goats’ cheeses or Comté or meaty river fish such as pike or eel.