Le Clos Galerne Anjou Gamay 2022

Cédric Bourez is the winemaker at Clos Galerne, an exciting and relatively new producer in Anjou. His background is working at Château d’Esclans in Provence, a rather different venture to this one. In 2018 Cedric and his wife Myrtille purchased a domaine in the village of Rochefort -sur-Loire, with some lovely old vine holdings facing the Layon river. He’s farmed organically since purchasing the domaine and was certified three years later. They began with 7 hectares and now have 12, with plots in Anjou Noir, Pierre Bise, Moulin Brûlé Beaulieu-sur-Layon, Savennières and Chaume. They vary in soil composition, with slate, volcanic soils, schists and sands. All of their whites are made in 400 litre barrels. 

After mastering Provençal Rosé, Cédric Bourez along with his family started the quest for an estate with character; one with a natural richness of terroir with a diverse soil profile. They fell in love with Anjou, their incredible old plots of Chenin Blanc blessed with the best orientations facing the Layon river. The vines are rooted in volcanic rock called “Spilite” giving the wines a deep soul and elegant nuances that unravel as you enjoy. 

Clos Galerne is a 10-hectare wine estate in the heart of the best terroirs of Anjou Noir. It is made up of plots in Pierre Bise and Moulin Brûlé both in Beaulieu-sur-Layon, and in Savennières and Chaume. Myrtille and Cédric Bourez moved to Anjou with their four children out of love for the land. Cédric, relied on his diploma in oenology and viticulture and his experience working in two domains in Côte de Provence, when they chose exceptional terroirs for their wine estate. The Domaine was born in 2018 after a visit to Anjou, the landscape, its light, meeting the local growers, triggered it all… It was love at first sight!

Le Clos Galerne makes a reference to the Virée de Galerne, a military operation during the French Revolutionary Wars when thousands of civilians, women, children and old people, crossed the Loire near Anjou from September to December of 1793, after traveling thousands of kilometers in the very harsh winter conditions, fighting the brutal ‘gwalarn’ (northwest wind), same one that keeps the family company during the hours of winter pruning. On September 19, 1793, the Vendée army pushed back the Republicans to the gates of Angers. This famous battle took place on the slopes of the estate, at the Moulin Brûlé .

The estate is made up of the most beautiful 4 diversified terroirs of Anjou, consists of slate, sandy shale, spilite and Phtanite. Chenin Blanc is dominant with small amounts of Cabernet and Gamay. Organic farming is a way of life for the Bourez family, it represents their respect to nature, time and the history of the place. Minimal tillage is applied in the vineyards, allowing the natural cover crop to grow and provide organic matter and nutrients to the vines. Green harvest is practiced in order to control the yield, harvest is done by hand using only small boxes. In the cellar, slow fermentation with indigenous yeast only, followed by long aging, on fine lees, in used barrels, allowing micro-oxygenation.