Who is Jean-Pierre Robinot?
As you cast your gaze over the crowd at the Dive Bouteilles, one of the world’s legendary natural wine trade events, you catch a glimpse of an eccentric, mad-hatter-ish figure. As you survey these chilly, dimly lit vaults below the Chateau de Brézé, you notice an energetic, distinctively clad gentleman in a loud, checkered coat and ropey, purple tie, darting in and out of the chatting circles, exhilarating each and then rapidly moving on. You make your way to a broad, cavernous chamber- one of the most popular at the Dive- that holds a collection of excellent Loire Valley vignerons. Through the throngs, you spy this now familiar, flamboyantly dressed apparition, his various neon sign labeled bottles atop a barrel resting lengthwise. Slowly, you make your way to his “table,” swirl, sniff, swish, spit, repeat, along the way. By the time you arrive, palate fatigue has set in; yet as you put your nose in the first glass of his wine, it dawns on you that what you smell is utterly new and unique. You move through his lineup of wines, savoring each, and realizing that Pineau D’Aunis has never tasted like this before… This is the indefatigable Jean-Pierre Robinot!
A Loire Valley native, before Monsieur Robinot was a vigneron, he was a Paris wine bar owner, a marathon runner, and a co-founder of the exceptional wine publication: “Le Rouge et Le Blanc.” He began making wine in 2002, after looking around for land near his home town of Chahaignes (near the Jasnieres appellation), with a few hectares of his own vines and some purchased grapes. Currently, Robinot makes two lines of wines: “L’Ange Vin,” from his vineyards, and “L’Opera du Vin,” his negociant line. Robinot now has ten hectares in Jasnieres and Coteaux du Loire, all of which are farmed organically. He is known for making contemplation-worthy Chenin Blanc and Pineau D’Aunis, always fermented long and slow with native yeasts, bottled unfiltered and with minimal sulfur. This is a hands-on operation in which he is actively involved every step of the way; perhaps some of the energy of the man rubs off on the wines, which show the best qualities of natural winemaking: terroir, clarity of fruit, and a sense of very little manipulation. There is no reason not to drink these wines at every possible opportunity.
-MSB
