Famille Vaillant, the land of Les Grandes Vignes

Laurence, Jean-François and Dominique Vaillant work at Domaine des Grandes Vignes in Thouarcé, Anjou. The family has grown vines here since the seventeenth century.

Biodynamic farming since 2008

Cover crops, preparations and herbal teas are among the practices used to support the vines.

Several soils in Anjou

The plots include grey and green schist, quartz, sand and shell deposits. Chenin is the main white grape. Cabernet franc grows alongside grolleau and pineau d’Aunis for the reds.

Supporting fermentation

The estate favours natural fermentation and limits intervention. Wines are neither fined nor filtered. Decisions about sulphur depend in part on residual sugar.

Discovering the estate through its wines

Le P’tit Vaillant and the single-plot wines offer different ways into the range. Le Pont Martin, Malabé and the pineau d’Aunis wines show how grapes and ageing vary across vintages.