RÉMI SÉDÈS

Saint Herblon, Loire Valley

Rémi Sédès is a young winemaker based in Ancenis, a small and often overlooked appellation on the western extremity of the Loire valley, just northeast of Nantes and the Muscadet zone. Unlike its better-known neighbors, the Coteaux d’Ancenis is primarily suited to growing Gamay. Over 50% of production in this area is red, and soils are predominantly schist with small deposits of microgranite.  Rémi originally came to the region from his native Jura, studying under Vincent Caillé and then local viticulture sage Jacques Caroge, who sold him a small parcel of Gamay vines planted in the mid-90s. He did farm some Melon and Chardonnay for a few years but has since decided to focus solely on Gamay.

Rémi’s wines are fresh, snappy, high acid, and never lacking in structural integrity. His reds can be macerated for as long as 50 days, yet they always seem to maintain a balance and freshness. He doesn’t focus on potential alcohol or color, rather, his interest is in achieving full ripeness. His best-known cuvée, Trait Gamay, is aged in large, decades-old Alsatian oak Foudres, and can spend upwards of 50 days on the skins before fermentation is complete. The cool Atlantic climate enables him to complete these painstakingly long fermentations without producing muddy or over extracted reds. The rosé, Samplemousse, is a fascinating example of a more gastronomic rosé; darker in color à la Pfifferling or the cerasuolo from Emidio Pepe.

 He does all the work in the cellar and vines himself and has all but eliminated the use of mechanized pumps in the winery. Since 2015, he has not added any SO2 to his wines. All of his vines have been farmed without the use of chemicals since they were planted and are cerified through Ecocert. In the vines, as much work as possible is by hand and horse, limiting the soil compaction caused by overuse of tractors. These are true wines of terroir; meant to lay bare their sense of place without any manipulation or pretense.