Domaine Lise et Bertrand Jousset - Beautiful Natural Wines from Montlouis-Sur-Loire!

We are proud to feature new arrivals from Lise and Bertrand Jousset, two of the nicest vignerons we have ever met, who make beautiful wines of nature from their 11 hectares in and around Montlouis-sur-Loir. Primarily working with Chenin Blanc in Montlouis, they also grow Gamay, Grolleau and Chardonnay on parcels in Touraine. The vines are between 30 and 130 years old, with even some franc de pieds! Their approach is simple "we want to make wines that express their character and their origins, in other words 'living wines.' For this we need living soils with great microbial activity and living vineyards with a balanced animal and vegetal life in our parcels. This firmly excludes herbicides that kill the soils, fertilizers that maintain the plant by "feeding-tube" deprived of its natural nourishment and pesticides and fungicides that pollute our environment. And for us, no "cooking" in the cellar! We let our wines make themselves naturally without the use of oenologic products - sometimes a little sulfur and only what's necessary! Fermentations are with wild yeasts, of course - they are the soul of our wines as they transmit their origins, the terroir and the vintage. Our wines age slowly in barrels in a careful exchange with the air - we don't wish to "oak" our wines thus we mix the size and age of barrels in our different cuvées."

​(Bertrand in the cellar - May, 2015 (Photo: Isaac Rosenthal))

Our first shipment from the Joussets includes two wonderful Pétillant Naturels, a Vin de Pays white made with Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay and two beautiful dry Montlouis. All of them possess a wonderful purity and vivacity due to the character transmitted through the living soils of their vineyards and to the Joussets' precise, hand-off vinifications with zero or minmal added sulfur. All of these wines benefit from one to two hours of decanting if drunk now and the Montlouis will age nicely for five to ten years. Lise and Bertrand have a wonderful attitude and sense of humor towards their wines and their role as winemakers - "As a glass with friends or a companion at table, wine is meant to be drunk and shared - it's up to us to make wines for these moments." We urge you to try their delightful wines!

-David Lillie