In an appellation that is now consistently churning out winemaking trailblazers quicker than the Arsenal Hale End academy has ever done for football talent, it's refreshing to find new producers that excite and enthral. So, when we tasted the wines of Margot Rousseau Petit and Natalia Santo for the first time, we were delightfully hooked. Let's face it, having learnt the Chenin arts from the esteemed Thomas Batardière, and being located within proximity to Richard Leroy, you can't help but be a little excited by this new project located within the western part of the Loire. By jove, we certainly are!
Margot and Natalia may not have started out life aspiring to emulate the greats of Loire winemaking, but having spent time working in cinema and cultural events, a career change was on the cards for both. In 2016, Margot decided to take on oenology studies, alongside an internship at Thomas Batardière. Such was the experience - as a nod to learning on the job - she soon decided to abandon pursuing the qualification and instead fully focus her energy working under her mentor. Natalia joined her in 2017 and it wasn't long before their joint solo project was formed.
Their journey started with a small plot of Grolleau and Gamay, which Batardière loaned them for 3 years, enabling him to power on with his beloved Chenin. These were humble beginnings for a winemaking adventure, but extremely important until they were able to find and purchase other plots of their own. Margot and Natalia's first significant vintage was 2022, when the range increased (now including Chenin) and so too the number of hectares they were able to farm. Today they manage 5 hectares split between Chenin, Grolleau, Gamay, Cabernet Franc and a new plantation of young Chenin and Pineau d’Aunis, which will become productive in the next year or so.
In the vineyards, Margot and Natalia take a minimalist approach, prioritising soil health and biodiversity. Treatments are kept to a bare minimum. Margot describes their winemaking as driven by intuition, instinct and emotion. Due to space limitation in their soon-to-be-former small cuverie, they’ve focused on practical fermentation and ageing vessels, working primarily with fibreglass and stainless steel. However, excitingly, later this year they plan to complete a move to a larger and more comfortable farm just five minutes from the village of Champ-sur-Layon. This transition marks a major step forward for their ever-evolving domaine.
Having first tried these wines last year, we are very excited to see the progress they make as the range expands and evolves. Both the whites and reds demonstrate the full spectrum of styles that can be found within Anjou.
