Terre de l’Elu Vin de France ‘Bastingage’ 2021

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

Terroir Anjou noir, St Aubin de Luigné

Soil Shale sandstone, brittle shale, quartz

Age of the vines 20 to 40 years

Yields 30 hl / ha

Manual harvest in 20 kg bins with draconian sorting in thevineyard, and multiple passes if necessary. Direct and slowpressing of freshly harvested grapes, with selection of juices.Natural and slow fermentation (native yeast). Ageing inbarrels for one year on lees then assembly in vats for afurther aging of 2 to 4 months. Malolactic fermentation is complete.

About Terre de l’Elu

In January 2008, Charlotte and Thomas embarked on a winemaking adventure with the acquisition of the Terre de l’Élu domain (ex Clos de l’Elu), on the schist-rich lands of the Anjou Noir. With many years’ experience as a wine consultant (Thomas), in the fields of communication and management (Charlotte), they are both deeply passionate about the life of this domain which lies on the finest terroirs of the Layon valley.

If it was the Chenin that attracted Thomas and Charlotte to Anjou, the red grape varieties (Cabernet Franc, Grolleau, Pineau d’Aunis) continue to inspire them with deep, rich vintages that are expressive and full of finesse.

Railing Against the Machine

The systems that regulate wine in France can be incredibly restrictive. Even so it is a bold step to move against them and move your wines from a prestigious classification to a generic one. It take a single minded passion to achieve excellence to be willing to take such action.

From Charlotte & Thomas of Terre de L’Elu: 

In December 2018, we decided to withdraw all of our AOC wines by reclassifying them as Vin de France from the 2018 vintage, under the name “Terre de l’Elu” (the word “Clos” is not allowed for Vins de France).

This decision reflects our disappointment with an administrative machine whose rules orchestrate the eligibility to be included in the appellation of origin for the wines produced by artisanal winemakers. This disappointment is coupled with a feeling of economic insecurity that our young company cannot accept.

By renouncing an absurd system that only seeks to standardize the taste, this new orientation is above all an opportunity to gain a greater level of freedom of expression within this profession that we cherish. The current appellation system sadly does not allow for this. In 11 years, we have worked first and foremost for the preservation of this heritage that is the Clos de l’Elu, composed of a vineyard and a professional team endowed with know-how. We have valued this know-how and our terroirs by opting for a way that respects a certain idea of wine, which allows the expression of talents, just like those chefs who carry so high and so far the level of French gastronomy in a totally open and legal framework.

Today, we are proud of the recognition we have gained from wine professionals, such as wine merchants, restaurant owners, sommeliers and importers, who recognize in our wines an original expression of the Anjou vineyards. Wishing to honour the trust that our customers have given us for 11 years, we will not change the way we look at Anjou wine, with the hope that one day a deep reform of the AOC will allow us to claim again on our labels this link to the soil that we hold so dear.

In the Vineyard

Our domain is 20 hectares (50 acres) in size and is composed of 6 growing parcels of vines that surround the village.

Each parcel has its own personal regime: the way the soil is tilled, natural cover crops, more or less severe de-budding, clipping and pruning where necessary…

The domain is entirely organic: we use only natural treatments in the vineyards (no synthetic chemical products). This is firstly through choice, in line with our own convictions. It is also the fact that the great wines of today demand high standards of winemaking, and organic agriculture is better for our health and the preservation of our environment.

Plant extracts are used in many forms: infusion, decoction, liquid manure, essential oils. Their properties are very interesting for fighting against spring frost, stimulating the activity of the soil and the plant, strengthening the immune defenses of the vine or for fighting against fungal diseases, which makes it possible to reduce the doses of copper in the treatments. The main plants used are nettle, field horsetail, osier, yarrow, chamomile, dandelion …

There are several terroirs on which we grow different varieties. But above all there is willingness! And that comes from man himself.

It is he who steers the finest boat into port, it is he who plays the finest recital of a beautiful piece of music. It is equally he who wrecks a ship or is booed by unhappy concert goers!

Our know-how in the vineyard is focused on one sole objective: harvesting ripe and healthy grapes.

To succeed, we choose pruning styles adapted to each grape variety (double strand for chenin and gamay, Guyot Poussard for cabernet franc and sauvignon blanc and gobelet for grolleau and pineau d’Aunis). The vines are generally pruned short.

Our acidic soils receive very little organic matter. We favour the vines own vitality and ‘recycling’ of tendrils and flowers. Excessive vigour is not recommended for the health of the grapes. A doctor would not advise a patient to be obese! Natural winter grass is allowed to grow as cover crops, helping to support the soil and protect against erosion.

In spring, the soils are tilled almost completely to turn the winter grasses into the soil and reduce the pressure on the vines from spontaneous vegetation.

Spring debudding is an essential step and allows us to choose which buds will develop into tendrils. We also considerably lighten the stems of our cabernet vines. This takes 3 weeks for a team of 15 people.

Let us not forget that this monoculture in the vineyard upsets the natural, ecological balance. This can make the vineyard more vulnerable to parasites. We have chosen organic winemaking and therefore treat our vines with natural remedies to fight off parasites: sulphur and copper work well against these problems. We also use infusions and concoctions of herbs and plants to naturally fertilise and protect the vines.

At harvest time, a 20 strong team hand-pick the ripe bunches and place them delicately into 20kg bins, before being transported to the cellar.

To conclude, we are happy with this teamwork that ensures the best possible conditions for our vines to grow and grapes to mature; with the sole objective of transforming them into wine. “Only pick what you’re going to eat”.

In the Winery

The chai is located at the entrance to the village on the road to Rochefort sur Loire. The cellar is ideally suited to respect the whole process from vine to bottle: use of gravity as much as possible, vinification with minimal contact with the grapes, slow pressing, natural fermentation with no synthetic products (indigenous yeast only), whole bunch maceration for the reds, segmentation of juices, no chaptalization, no filtration with reds, addition of sulphites in very low doses.

Since the beginning, the chai has continually evolved and each year there are new additions: two additional chais constructed for barrels (red & white wines), use of clay amphorae, reduction of epoxy vats… We continue to invest in materials that are specifically adapted to our way of working.

There is not really a recipe, just a bit of experience, a pinch of common sense, a few grams of knowledge and a healthy dose of intuition!

No crushing, no beating, no chemicals…just muscles to lift the weight, taste buds permanently awake, noses that catch the scents of wines each day as if they were approaching the neck of an elegant lady! It’s all biology and senses.

Our pineau d’Aunis vines are indigenous and so are the yeasts we use in each fermentation. Using a “booster juice” per vineyard allows the fermentation to work in optimum conditions while respecting the origin of the terroir.

Our reds are 90% from maceration/whole bunch infusion. The ageing and follow-up varies from one parcel, variety and year to another.

Our whites are slowly fermented in vats or barrels.

Ageing is 8 months minimum.

We generally avoid moving the wine during the ageing process.

We like sound and precise wines and believe that it is often preferable to add 1g of sulphites per hectolitre prior to bottling, than none at all.

We like to give our wines the same advice given by Saint Augustin: “Become what you are”!

Where in the World is Terre de l’Elu?

Terre de l’Elu has 6 terroris in Anjou, Loire Valley.

L’Aiglerie
Les Barres
Les Bruandières
Les Gaudumaux
Chaume
Les Vaux