History and Terroir

According to Etienne Bodet, wine has always been integral to his identity. Born into a grape growing family, his childhood memories include picking grapes with his father during harvest, as well as being tasked with debudding vineyards, collecting vine cuttings, and more. The Bodet family has farmed vines on the right bank of Loire since the late-19th century, rendering Etienne the fifth generation of his family’s lineage. Today, Etienne remains based in his childhood village of Montreuil-Bellay. Apart from his family’s holdings, his personal business as a micro-négoce began in 2017, focused on just one sparkling cuvée, called Physis. However, things shifted upon receiving 1.4 hectares of Cabernet Franc—deemed the Clos Durandière—as a wedding gift from his family, a parcel he’d been overseeing since 2015. Slowly but surely, Etienne has added small amounts of Chenin Blanc, Grolleau, and additional Cabernet Franc to his holdings over the past eight years. As of 2019, the Domaine Etienne Bodet was officially established.

Farming and Winemaking

At Etienne Bodet, all farming is done biodynamically, though the estate is not certified. The majority of his vineyards are rooted in the area’s chalk tuffeau soils, which provide tension and elegance to the wines’ structure. Additionally, Bodet notes that said tuffeau also creates ideal conditions for natural underground cellars, due mostly in part to the environment’s ability to maintain a stable temperature and optimal humidity levels. In the cellar, wines are pressed with whole clusters and fermented with native yeasts prior to aging in Barrels from Clos Rougeard. Etienne describes his vision of winemaking as “philosophic, artisanal, and romantic”—a far cry from the many mass-produced wines coming out of Loire Valley.