Thibaud Boudignon

Loire Valley / France

At A Glance

Winemaker(s)

Thibaud Boudignon

Appellation

Savennières, Anjou

Varieties

Chenin Blanc

Farming

Biodynamic

Their Story
“In the vineyards, I practice biodynamics. The fruit is everything. Once the harvest is complete, then decisions are made on how vinification will take place, but nothing is decided until all fruit has been harvested.” — Thibaud Boudignon

Thibaud Boudignon is one of the most exciting and passionate vignerons in the Loire Valley today. His domaine is made up of 7 hectares of vines, 5 hectares in Savennières and 2 hectares in Anjou each worked biodynamically. The majority of vines were planted by Thibaud via massal selection and are guyot-poussard trained. The domaine is among the last to harvest each year and occurs when Thibaud believes the grapes are ready to be picked. This decision is based on his desire for the grapes to reach optimal maturity and when they do, he employs over 30 workers to harvest as quickly as possible.
Mid Post Image
“The soil is schist. You can not dig into schist. We had to bring the cave above ground.”

Once the harvest of each parcel is complete, the bunches are sorted by hand ensuring only the highest quality fruit is preserved. The grapes are pressed very gently and the juice moves to inox tank by gravity. Only indigenous yeasts are used during the fermentation process. Fermentation and élevage occurs in a combination of inox tank and oak barrels. Barrels include a combination of 600L demi-muids, 320L “cigars”, 350L barriques and lightly toasted Austrian Stockingers. Thibaud does not allow malolactic fermentation to occur. Aging in barrel lasts up to 12 months before the juice is moved back to inox tank before bottling.
“Balance is everything. Balance is life. Balance in work. Balance in the vineyard and in the cellar. I want my wines to be balanced, but balance will not come from the vineyard or in the cellar alone.” — Thibaud Boudignon