Vincent Gaudry
Sancerre, Loire Valley
Vincent’s winery is located in the tiny hamlet of “Le Petit Chambre,” which is part of the town of Sury en Vaux in Sancerrois, where he lives with his partner Severine, his 3-year-old son Arthur and his little Westie. The Domaine has passed from father to son for several generations.
Vincent introduced organic farming to his Domaine starting in 1993 and achieved full “Agriculture Biologique” certification in 2002. He has just completed the transfer to full biodynamic farming of the vines and is certified by Demeter. His production reflects his deep held feelings about the power of the earth and the expression of his terroir.
His soils are composed of limestone and marl; they cover 8 hectares, 90% of which are planted with Sauvignon Blanc and 10% with Pinot Noir. The climate is continental, with short hot summers and cold winters.
The vines are meticulously cared for. The wines are made using temperature-controlled vinification and the wonderful crisp whites are aged “sur lie”, i.e. on the crushed grapes for several months before being bottled. No artificial enzymes, yeasts or additives are used in the vinification process. The wines are unfiltered and bottled according to the lunar calendar. His Sancerre wines are harmonious and have great balance and mineral character.
Gaudry is almost spiritual about biodynamics. For example: He only cuts wood for his barrels on days suggested by the biodynamic calendar. The expression of the terroir and the power of the earth are the true reflection of his wines. He is highly regarded and receives high levels of attention from the biodynamic community and other top estates around the world. Vincent is among the top new stars of Loire winemaking.
Le Tournebride, Sancerre Blanc
“Tournebride” refers to the tiny path leading to their premises.
- 30-year-old vines
- Three major soils – terres blanches, caillottes and silex
- Tank fermented, it spends eight months on its fine lees before bottling.
L’Esprit de Rudolf
this was the very first parcel he converted to biodynamic farming and is the inspiration to make a wine that has spent its entire time from harvest to bottling biodynamic, hence the use of wood over tank and the Stiener nod.
- From a single parcel of silex
- Vinified and aged in oak barrel for 12 months
Rouge “Vincengetorix”
- Gaudry has one hectare of pinot noir.
- Red Sancerre
- Destemmed, ferments in resin tanks. Gaudry adds a layer of co2 and covers the tanks.
- No temperature control and Gaudry does nothing other than “regulate the energy” – for example, by opening a door
- Ages for ten months or a year in old oak barrels. It is bottled without filtration
- The 2009 was light in color and saturation, it was dense, pure, cool, and lightly tannic, with flavors of spice and black tea.
