Marie Lise & Thomas Batardiere Les Noels de Montbenolt Chenin Blanc 2024
Marie Lise & Thomas Batardiere Les Noels de Montbenolt Chenin Blanc 2024
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Marie Lise & Thomas Batardiere Les Noels de Montbenolt Chenin Blanc 2024

Marie Lise & Thomas Batardiere
$64.00

Grape: Chenin Blanc
Vintage: 2024
Type: White

Sourced from the famed "Les Noëls de Montbenault" vineyard in Rablay-sur-Layon—a renowned site sitting atop a volcanic ridge of black spilite and schist—this single-parcel bottling represents Thomas Batardière’s top expression of Anjou white wine. Farmed strictly biodynamically, the ancient chenin blanc vines yield tiny quantities of intensely concentrated fruit. The hand-harvested grapes are pressed gently into neutral oak barrels, fermenting spontaneously with native yeasts without temperature control or additions. The wine rests on its fine lees for roughly 12 months before being bottled unfined, unfiltered, and zero-sulfur, offering a raw, uncompromising lens into volcanic Anjou terroir.

A deep straw-yellow color with golden highlights introduces complex, soil-driven aromas of roasted lemon, dried quince, smoky flint, beeswax, and crushed rock. The palate is dense, dry, and intensely mineral, unfolding layered flavors of pear skin, salt-cured citrus, raw honey, and yellow plum framed by a tactile, lightly phenolic grip. High, driving natural acidity slices through the wine’s concentrated leesy core, imparting remarkable vertical drive and precision. It concludes on an extraordinarily long, lip-smacking finish defined by persistent notes of wet slate, bitter grapefruit zest, and electric salinity.

Winery

Marie-Lise and Thomas Batardière work a small domaine in Rablay-sur-Layon, in Anjou. Thomas first studied anthropology and cinema before turning toward wine, training with Mathieu Vallée at Château Yvonne and studying viticulture in Beaune. In 2012 he acquired old Chenin Blanc vines and began building his own project. The vineyards include clay-rich soils with blue schist, stone and quartz, while the Montbenault parcel adds a different geological setting. Chenin dominates the holdings, alongside smaller amounts of Grolleau and Cabernet Franc.

Biodynamic farming has guided the work from the start, with Demeter certification obtained in 2015. The cellar approach is based on the idea of revealing the place rather than creating a house style through manipulation. L’Esprit Libre provides an accessible view of the Chenin work, while individual parcels offer more focused expressions. The wines draw their identity from the combination of old vines, careful agriculture and the varied ground around Rablay and Faye d’Anjou, giving the couple a distinctive place among Anjou’s small grower-led domaines.