Guillaume Noire

Guillaume Noire started to make wine in 2017 after a successful career in advertising. He and his wife met in high school – in the Paris suburbs -- and after careers and educations spent in Paris itself, started to become interested in eating organically and becoming more attuned to where their products came from, as well as life beyond the city. When his business partner decided to take a break from advertising work, it was a natural turning point for Guillaume to reassess a change in career and location. He enrolled at the BPREA in Beaune and went on to work with Stephane Rocher at the Ferme de Mont Benault before he and his wife settled in Rablay-sur-Layon where he acquired vines between Rablay and Champ-sur-Layon.

Noire’s wines are characterized by their sincerity – by his desire to show “elemental” expressions of the grapes with minimal intervention. And so, it is unsurprising that his collection of natural wines that he vinifies at his home in Anjou is called Eléments.

The idea of the collection is to represent the varietals like our basic elements on the periodic table. The wines are natural, organic and all made by hand. Because Noire is largely self-taught and came to winemaking later in life, he brings a rigorous and open spirit to his winemaking, learning from his peers and neighbors. He is part of a cohort in Anjou who share, discuss, and collaborate in their efforts to make well-made, balanced, fresh, natural wines in the Loire Valley.

The Grolleau vines are between 40 and 50 years old. Weeding is done by hand under the vines and between the rows (1 of every 2). The grapes are harvested by hand and the maceration is done gently by the whole bunch.

The maceration is done by taste and feel so can last from a few days to several weeks. Then they are pressed through two vertical presses – a large one and a small one for gentle pressing of up to 10 hours.

Maceration and aging takes place in neutral vats.