Vin de France L'd'Ange Alexandre Bain (Domaine) 2022

Lot presentation

Vin de France L'd'Ange Alexandre Bain (Domaine) 2022

The wine

Alexandre Bain’s estate, in the heart of the Pouilly-Fumé appellation in the Loire, is considered to be out of this world. The son of a winemaker who set up his own business in 2007, he has created a French wine called Ld’Ange, produced from Sauvignon Blanc, a grape variety typical of the appellation. The grapes have been cultivated with great care following organic and biodynamic principles, largely inspired by experience gained on estates where these principles were applied. The vines were encouraged to draw the nutrients necessary for their development from poor soils where the bedrock outcrops.
In the winery, this notion of respect for the terroir is perpetuated by natural winemaking methods that allow native yeasts to trigger fermentation, banish inputs, use no filtration and add sulphur only when necessary, as an antiseptic and antioxidant.
This cuvée, which owes its name to the winemaker's youngest child, presents an atypical profile and should be aerated before serving. Indeed, the aromatic notes jostle one another in the glass, successively suggesting flint, stewed fruit, hints of exotic fruit and floral notes. The full-bodied palate is driven by a superb minerality that lingers on a delicately saline finish.

The son of a winemaker, Alexandre Bain set up his own domain in 2007 at Tracy-sur-Loire (Pouilly-Fumé), after studying oenology at the Beaune Lycée Viticole and after various placements where he worked in particular with winemakers who use natural, organic and bio-dynamic methods. Today his vineyard, covering an area of eleven hectares, has biodynamic certification and is worked using horses. The wines are made without any inputs (indigenous yeasts), they are neither chaptalised nor filtered and contain virtually no sulphites. Alexandre Bain places great emphasis on harvesting his grapes once they are completely ripe. This tends to lessen the Sauvignon's varietal aspect (boxwood aroma) while emphasizing the terroir instead, but on the other hand it brings out the mineral quality and a fine acidity. Bain's originality means that his wines do not full under an appellation. Regardless of this wine lovers remain loyal to him. With rare candour, Alexandre Bain's wines express the typical characteristics of their terroir; they are deep and generous, with pure aromas and incredible drinkability.