The Story:

Domaine des Frères was created by two brothers, Henri and Valentin. They grew up near Chinon and both became engineers.  After several years working in the fields of engineering they both realized that they were not fit to stay in an office.

Passionate about wine, Henri was the first to change course. In 2013, Henri went back to school in Bergerac and obtained a degree in viticulture and oenology. He began his Tour de France in the South West, Loir et Cher and Touraine. Henri's most impactful experience was his time spent with Patrick Corbineau, who became his mentor. In 2015, Valentin followed and graduated from a school in Mâcon. Valentin's first work study began with Yvon and Jules Métras. He also worked with and learned from other excellent wine producers such as Philippe Chigard and Bernard Baudry.

After looking for two years, in October 2019, Henri and Valentin took over a unique estate in Beaumont-en-Véron comprised of 27 acres planted with vines between 35 and 50 years old and located on a hillside containing 7 different and distinct terroirs. The property also includes a beautiful wine cellar cut into the local tuffeau limestone.

The farming is organic with precise and thoughtful tisanes, harvest is done by hand and picked very early in the morning so the grapes arrive cold. The first harvest was in September 2020 and the first wine coming from the Le Pérou lieu-dits was bottled last December. In just a few months both brothers have gained a quick reputation in France. Their soon to arrive first vintage is from a parcel completely surrounded by forest on sandy soil making this wine fresh and elegant.

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The Vineyards and the Cellar:

The domaine consists of 11ha divided into seven parcels: Le Pérou, Les Picasses, Les Moulins de Beau Puy, Les Pucelles, La Roche Bobreau, Les Puys and Les Chaineaux. All the vines are planted on slopes and 80% of them are from massale selection. The brothers do two types of pruning to limit Esca; gobelet for the Chenin Blanc and guyot poussard for the Cabernet Franc. They do not plow and avoid packing the soil, therefore they only come twice during the year with a 1.9T tractor (usually 3T) for the hilling up and the taking away and use quads to spray organic treatments. They rely a lot on observation. Sach parcel has organic plants which indicate if the soil is alive or not. For instance on the Pérou parcel some maritime pines mixed with the sandy soil showed a lack of organic matter; the solution was to apply a mix of animal compost (horse/cow). They also produce homemade tisane treatments such as fermented compost tea. They trim the vines only once per year (compared to the 3-4 times for most winemakers). This technique provides each vine with a maximum number of leaves, thus aiding photosynthesis and improving the aromatic complexity of the fruit.

All the wines are made based on their terroirs with the idea of minimum intervention with precision. Everything is followed and tasted to make sure the wines are aging well.

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The Wine: Le Pérou 2020

Le Pérou is the name of the lieu-dit in the AOP Chinon near the village Beaumont-en-Véron. It is  a parcel of 2ha planted 35 years ago and located right in the middle of a forest that is protected by Natura 2000 (Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union). The vines are planted facing South on terraces with a top soil made of loess on flint and the bedrock limestone. The micro-climate is more semi-Mediterranean. The grapes were hand harvested early in the morning, 10 days of maceration, wild yeasts fermentation, aging in concrete vats, no addition of SO2 until bottling (2g/hl). The wine is full of crunchy fruits, very open, cherry, strawberry and floral, the mouthfeel is light, fluid, juicy and refreshing.

Pure  and Stunning wine to share!

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What’s next?

Henri & Valentin have 6 more cuvees to release from the 2020 harvest. These cuvees will be available throughout 2021 and part of 2022. Our next wine will be Les Pucelles a parcel within a parcel called Moulin de Beau Puy, the oldest vines, crafted without an addition of SO2. ETA middle of June.