Richard Leroy

In 1996 Richard Leroy was a Bank Director and head of one of the most established premium wine clubs in Paris. One day, through a visit to Anjou with his son, he fell upon some wines that thrilled him from Coteaux du Layon. He was in love. He made friends with Joel Menard, a local winemaker who was in the process of converting his vineyard to organic who convinced Richard to buy two small and cheap parcels of land from the area. At first Richard would travel down from Paris at weekends and holidays to tend for his vines, but he eventually gave up the city life and resettled in his new home. The vines cover 2.7 ha and fall in Les Rouliers (20 year old vines) and Les Noëls des Monbenault (40 year old vines). The vines are South facing at the top of the slope where the Layon River runs deep. The subsoil consists of volcanic deposits which adds an additional fruitiness and freshness in contrast to slate, making it a truly great terroir in Anjou. The intention was never to make dry expressions of Chenin Blanc, but after some experimentation with picking the grapes earlier - and some encouragement from the great Mark Angèli - it became clear that this was the right direction for the new vigneron to travel. In 2009 Richard made a small experimental cuvée without added SO2. The following year he increased the amount of wines made without added SO2 and since 2011 he has abandoned the practice altogether.Comparing his wine in barrels bought from new with the same wine in barrels bought second-hand – and impregnated with sulphur from previous uses – he noticed an extra level of purity and finesse in the wines aged in new barrels that convinced him this was the only viable option. He now ages all his wines in barrels bought new – which he keeps for up to 7-8 years – from tonneliers who can guarantee the neutrality of flavour and aromatics.