THIERRY HESNAULT

Thierry Hesnault, one of the most fascinating vignerons of the Loire in the village of Chahaignes.
Originally from Touraine, Thierry comes from a family of vignerons and traveled the world working in vineyards before returning to the Loire and working alongside the likes of Eric Nicolas and Jean-Pierre Robinot, while teaching at the Lycée Viticole in Amboise. He spent several years purchasing tiny plots of the oldest vines he could find and in 2009 began producing his own wine.
Now he grows two and a half hectares of old vines of Chenin, Pineau d'Aunis and hybrids scattered in tiny plots across the Sarthe, planted on a complex melange of clay, iron and flint. In addition to these, Thierry also has a couple of old Gamay plots planted on deep sand near his house in Touraine. Raised among the vineyards, he cultivates with a true respect for nature, with treatments reduced to an absolute minimum and particular attention in channeling the energy of these extraordinary centuries-old plants.
In the cellar set in a small tuff cave, Thierry makes wine as in the past, without electricity or running water, counting on a skilled hand, great patience and the perfect élevage conditions that tuff offers to produce extremely pure wines with real capacity of aging...WOW!!!