Terra Vita Vinum

Located just south of Angers in Mozé-sur-Louet, the Anjou Noir part of Anjou-Saumur, Terra Vita Vinum boasts 30 hectares of vineyards planted on dark schist and granite soils. Bénédicte Petit and Luc Briand took over the estate from the Richou family in 2019, from which point their sole focus was to make some of the most terroir-expressive Chenin Blanc wines.

All farmed biodynamically (Demeter certified), Terra Vita Vinum’s philosophy is low interventionist winemaking to allow the vineyards to speak for themselves. “We do everything possible to produce terroir wines with the greatest transparency to deliver unique emotions.” Only natural yeast found on the grapes are used for fermentation, conducted in many different types of vessels ranging from demi-muid, concrete egg, and amphorae. Very little use of SO2 and no filtering or fining completes the winemaking. Their top cuvées are only released three years after harvest, half of this time spent maturing in the bottle.

The estate has three ranges of cuvées intertwined with many grape varieties ranging from age-worthy Chenin Blanc to Grolleau, Gamay, Savagnin, Cabernet Franc, and others. Their Selections Parcellaires range is the focus today, with Chenin Blanc being their flagship varietal expressed through five different cuvées – Bigottière (Savennières AOC), Grandes Rogeries, Pavillon, Le Réau, and Grand Vau, all four in Anjou Blanc AOC. Cabernet Franc and Gamay are the stars for their red cuvées. It is a young project that already has a cult following and is becoming a favourite for sommeliers worldwide.