Domaine Valéry Renaudat

After growing up in Berry, whose farms and vineyards are wedged between the castles of the Loire and the foothills of the Massif Central, Valéry lit out for the west—way out west, working a harvest in Oregon. Then he put in stints at a number of cellars in Bordeaux … without quite ridding himself of the urge to be elsewhere. So next he headed to Burgundy, where he really honed his winemaking skills at Domaine Vincent Girardin, the Côte de Beaune negotiant whose precise vineyard management and emphasis on fresh, transparent, calcareous-marked wines set the template for Valéry’s eventual return in 1999.

Yet even his homecoming was more like a declaration of independence. After coming to loggerheads with his father, he set off on his own, securing 2.5 hectares in Reuilly and a couple of fiberglass-coated tanks. Though the appellation has long been overshadowed by neighbors like Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé, it has an attractive geological legacy. During the Jurassic era, the sea spilled into the Central Loire basin repeatedly, layering the hillsides with marine sediments that are evident today as bands of limestone, clay, alluvial gravels, sand, flint, and calcareous rock. Valéry steadily expanded his holdings, favoring southeast exposures both here and a few clicks east in Quincy, where he became one of the first 21st-century vintners to help revive interest in that tiny appellation (which was the first one chartered in the Central Loire back in 1936).

Today the domaine encompasses 23 hectares planted to Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir—15 in Reuilly, five in Quincy, and three designated Val de Loire. Just as important is the state-of-the-art cellar that Valéry completed in 2012, whose thermoregulated stainless steel vats maximize the vivacity and immediacy of his grapes. (The fiberglass tanks that set it all in motion are still hanging on, though, like lucky charms.)

Somewhat like the wines of Chablis, Sauvignon Blanc grown in Reuilly’s fossil-rich soils have a saline thread that weaves through the mid-palate. Renaudat’s cuveé from the “Les Lignis” lieu-dit is a showcase of mature vines: dense orchard fruit lifted with a citric snap. The “Le P’tit Renaudat” Val de Loire IGP bottling, by contrast, conveys the fleetfooted florality and lemony freshness of younger wines. Both gain depth from aging on the lees. 

The reds hew to the same philosophy, emphasizing the fruit’s purity and freshness. Valéry has a special affinity for Pinot on account of his grandfather, evoking crunchy, high-toned expressions that seem shimmer outward from a saline core. From the spiced blackberry aromatics of the streamlined “Le P’tit Renaudat” Rouge, to the silky, mineral-buffered pomegranate and hibiscus tang of the “Les Lignis” bottling, these are energetic wines that remain supple within their rounded edges.

At the half-century mark, Valéry Renaudat has fully hit his stride, making wine with a self-confidence born both of deep familiarity with these fossil-studded hillsides and the openness to outside ideas and influences that shaped his journey. He likes to say that his domaine sits “at the crossroads of tradition and modernity.” Where Reuilly and Quincy are concerned, there’s no better place to be.