Thomas Batardière
About
After three years of being mentored by Vallée, in 2012 Batardière finally began his own project in Rablay-sur-Layon (Maine-et-Loire, Anjou). He started by purchasing a few hectares of the variety with which he has the most affinity—Chenin Blanc—but as he puts it, “without a cave, without a house, without a tractor—just a pruner and those two hectares of vines.” The winery was built in 2014, along with his house, right next door to Richard Leroy, another fine grower in Rablay-sur-Layon with whom Batardière is close. In 2015, all of the vineyards were certified biodynamic by Demeter, a process that Thomas began implementing right away—he’s a committed advocate for this style of holistic farming and doesn’t shy away from its more esoteric dimensions.
Here’s a little blurb about what biodynamics means to Thomas, as it’s always of interest to hear a grower speak to their practice in this way:
"Biodynamics aims to heighten the general acoustics, meaning that it allows the vines to communicate better with their environment, more deeply from the earth to the cosmos. Biodynamics also allows the winemaker and the plants to better interact… [These practices] bring life to the plant, the parcel, and the entire domaine, leaving it more rich and complex. And that shows in the wines. A living wine is better expressed and with a greater variety."
Thomas’ vineyard surface area now equals 3.5ha—2.5 Chenin Blanc, .85 Grolleau, and .15 Cabernet Franc. We receive only a small quantity of these jewel-like wines, as a result, but we’re always enchanted by their robust-but-elegant character. Batardière’s wines are somehow powerful, pretty, and crystal clear all at once, an unadorned expression of Anjou that could only come from this clear-headed and intuitive winemaker.
Products
Chenin Blanc 'Les Cocus' Vin de France
Certified Biodynamic. 100% Chenin Blanc. This wine comes from a single parcel of Chenin, planted in 1958 in Faye d’Anjou, the neighboring village of Rablay. The Clos des Cocus terroir is the summit of a hillside (southwest) very exposed to winds. The soil is 20-40 cm of clay on schist. Fermentation in stainless steel vats, then moved to 500L tonneaux for one year of aging. These barrels are used, 2-3 years old (no new barrels). Naturally occurring fermentation, both primary and malolactic. No SO2 added in 2022.
Chenin Blanc 'L'Esprit Libre' Vin de France
Certified Biodynamic. 100% Chenin Blanc. This wine is made of three parcels, situated in Rablay, with vines 15-90 years old. From plateaus of red sand and quartz gravel on schist. The juice is blended in steel tanks before the fermentation starts. The alcoholic and malolatic fermentations start naturally, without inoculation and without temperature control (his cave is underground and it’s 14 degrees C). The wine rests on its lees from pressing until summer without sulfur. Raised mainly in steel, although Thomas uses L’Esprit Libre to break in his 500L tonneaux that he then uses for ‘Clos de Cocus’ when needed. No SO2 added in 2022.
Grolleau 'Amor Fati' Vin de France
Certified Biodynamic. 100% Grolleau. From a 0.33 ha parcel planted in the 1960s. The vineyard is named ‘Case Neuve,’ and Batardière owns one of the vineyard’s two parcels. Yields are only 25 hl/ ha. The parcel sits on a riverbed between the Britannic and Parisian continental plates, which yields a wide array of soils: clay, blue schist, quartz, degraded and eroded schist. Semi-carbonic fermentation in stainless steel with spontaneous fermentation; no additions. Aged in stainless steel and bottled in Sept after harvest, with no fining/filtering. No SO2 added in 2022.
Chenin Blanc 'Montbenault' Vin de France
Certified Biodynamic. 100% Chenin Blanc. Montbenault is a parcel of Chenin that Batardière planted in 2014. It’s only is 50 meters from Les Cocus, but the soil is different: deeper and characterized by a volcanic rock called Rhyolite that’s particular to the area. Fermentation in stainless steel vats, then moved to 500L tonneaux for one year of aging. These barrels are used, 2-3 years old (no new barrels). Naturally occurring fermentation, both primary and malolactic. No SO2 added in 2022.
Chenin Blanc 'Grand Clos' Vin de France
Certified biodynamic. 100% Chenin Blanc. A new parcel of Chenin planted in 2020, just to the east of the village of Rablay – it’s the last parcel on the hillside where ‘Esprit Libre’ is located. The new parcel for ‘Le Grand Clos’ is located on a break in the hill, on a significantly more eroded schist soil than the bottling of ‘Esprit Libre.’ It’s a characteristic practice for the Batardière estate to vinify according to very specific parcels and soil types around their village. In ’22, this was the very first harvest from this new vineyard, which is why they chose to release it only in magnum format for a very limited swath of longstanding customers – we were lucky to get some! The vintage in general is marked by very intense drought and exceptional heat in Anjou. It’s similar to 2018 and 2020 in that regard, so the wine is meant to be drunk in a more immediate fashion, though Thomas and Marie-Lise adjusted harvest dates and practices to maintain as much coolness as possible in the fruit. 1g/L sulfur added, unfined, unfiltered.
