While it's fair to say that Renaud Guettier won't be winning "label of the year" awards for his wines any time soon, quite frankly, when they are this good, who cares?! Honestly, this is really top level wine-making in the heart of the Loire Valley. Nestled in the village of Bueil-en-Touraine, Renaud works with small plots (albeit, growing in size to 6 hectares) of old parcels of Chenin Blanc (yeah, baby) and Pineau d' Aunis (an oldie native to the Loire). Think 70+ year old vines with terroir providing a combination of red clay, silex and limestone. Coming from fully ripened grapes, his wines then spend a year or three resting in the cellar, with the end results quite special.
His whites showcase power, character and density that are firmly rooted as full bodied expressions of the ever impressive Chenin variety. The style is rich with a taste of orchard fruit that remind slightly of Domaine Belargus for their waxy finesse and powerful intricacies. While his reds offer some serious light bodied crunch that provide the right balance of purity, poise and warmth from a relatively unknown indigenous variety, which always keeps things interesting. Renaud's wines will undoubtedly age, but they are also dangerously drinkable! Making complex and approachable wines, this is a young winemaker worth keeping tabs on.
