Calvez-Bobinet

Sébastien Bobinet grew up helping his grandfather in the vines at Dampierre-sur-Loire and took over the family estate at Beaulieu in 2002: a couple of hectares on the slopes, and a cellar unlike almost anything else in France. The cave runs hundreds of metres into the tuffeau and sits at a constant 12°C without a single piece of kit. It shapes everything made inside it.

His teachers were a serious line-up. Olivier Cousin, who showed him how to plough with horses. Charly Foucault of Clos Rougeard, which is about as revered as the Loire gets. And Bernard Pontonnier, who in 2007 introduced him to carbonic maceration and changed the shape of the reds completely.

Émeline Calvez arrived in 2011 from a different direction entirely. A career-ending injury ended the dancing, so she trained as a sommelier at Suze-la-Rousse, graduated first in her class, worked at La Quincave in Paris where she found natural wine, then spent a year moving around French vineyards and cellars before landing in Saumur. The domaine as it stands is the two of them, which is why we call it Calvez-Bobinet.

Where are Calvez-Bobinet based?

Beaulieu, in Saumur-Champigny in the Loire Valley, France. The estate includes a cave cellar cut deep into tuffeau limestone that holds a constant 12°C all year without any equipment.

Who are Émeline Calvez and Sébastien Bobinet?

Sébastien is the seventh or eighth generation on these vines and took the estate on in 2002, trained by Olivier Cousin, Charly Foucault of Clos Rougeard and Bernard Pontonnier. Émeline was a professional dancer before an injury took her to wine; she trained as a sommelier, graduated first in her class and joined in 2011. He farms, she makes the wine.

What is Poil de Lièvre?

The Chenin Blanc, and the usual way in. Spontaneous fermentation, six months on lees in old barrels, no sulphur added. Green apple, pear and a saline finish. The name means hare's fur and refers to the texture.

What is tuffeau?

The soft white limestone that runs under Saumur and much of the Loire, and the stone the châteaux are built from. It holds water and gives it back slowly, so the vines stay unstressed and the wines keep their minerality even in hot years. It is also what the cellar is carved into.

Do Calvez-Bobinet wines contain sulphites?

No sulphur goes in across the range, and neither does anything else. Small amounts of sulphites occur naturally in all wine as a by-product of fermentation, so no wine is ever truly sulphite-free.

Which Calvez-Bobinet wine should I start with?

Poil de Lièvre for the Chenin or Hanami for the Cabernet Franc. If you want the fun end, Le Temps Est Bon or any of the Piak bottles. Les Gruches is the one to put away.