Chahut et Prodiges - Grégory Leclerc

Like so many other natural winemakers, Gregory Leclerc left behind a different career in favour of grapes and cellars. Fortunately for Gregory though, his former job as wine journalist in Paris gave him a bit of headstart over some of the others who chose the same route. Gregory is in the Loire, near Touraine, with pretty typical clay and limestone as well as some stony clay/flint parcels. He left his job as wine writer in the early 2000s and moved to the countryside to start winemaking when he bought 6.5 hectares of vines and a cellar. He grows Chenin, Sauvignon, Gamay, Côt and Grolleau and while the vines are not as old as some other Loire vineyards boast, they nevertheless range from 25 to 60+ years old. He shares his cellar with Anne Paillet, maker of the magnificent wines Autour de l’Anne. They aren’t just cellar partners, they’re partner-partners too, and treat the wines gently, not a lot of racking, no pumping, neither filtering nor fining.