In the glass
Aroma: lemon, wet schist, white peach, fine spice
Palate: citrus, saline mineral, stone fruit, creamy lees
Cult Anjou Chenin from a 0.7-hectare parcel of centenarian vines planted 1910 on chalky-clay plateau. A few thousand bottles a year of cellar-worthy dry Chenin Blanc, virtually impossible to find.
What it pairs with
-
Sole bonne femme
Mushroom-shallot cream sauce meets the wine's lees creaminess and saline-mineral lift. -
Roast capon with truffles
Earthy truffle and white-meat poultry meet the wine's stone-fruit depth. -
Lobster ravioli
Shellfish sweetness meets the wine's chalky mineral and stone-fruit depth. -
Aged Comté
Hazelnut crystallisation in 36+ month Comté finds the wine's lees creaminess and fine spice.
History
Stéphane Bernaudeau first worked for Mark Angeli before setting up on his own in 2000. Les Nourrissons is his emblematic cuvée from a tiny parcel of less than 1 hectare planted 1910.
- 2000 — Stéphane Bernaudeau founds his domaine
- 2003 — First vintage of Les Nourrissons bottled
Facts
- Producer
- Domaine Stéphane Bernaudeau
- Grapes
- Chenin Blanc (100%)
- Classification
- Vin de France
- Oak
- Fermented and aged on fine lees in older oak barrels around 12 months, no new oak
- ABV
- 13.0%
- Price
- EUR 300 to 800 at retail
- Drinking window
- 3-25 from vintage
- First vintage
- 2003
- Biodynamic
- Biodynamic Practicing
- Organic
- ORGANIC CERTIFIED
- Vegan
- Yes (no animal-derived fining)
Scores
- Vinous 95 (2020 vintage, reviewed 2023)
Frequently asked about Les Nourrissons
What does Bernaudeau Les Nourrissons taste like?
Lemon, wet schist, white peach and fine spice on the nose; citrus, saline mineral, stone fruit and creamy lees on the palate. Medium-bodied with high acidity and a long, layered finish.
When should I drink Bernaudeau Les Nourrissons?
Drink between 3 and 25 years from vintage. The centenarian vines and chalky-clay plateau give the cuvée remarkable ageing capacity; mature bottles develop honey and waxy depth.
Where is Les Nourrissons grown?
A 0.7-hectare parcel of Chenin Blanc planted 1910 on a south-southwest-facing chalky-clay plateau in Cornu, in the Anjou region of Martigné-Briand. The vines are gobelet-trained without wire and worked by horse.
Is Bernaudeau Les Nourrissons vegan?
Yes. The estate is biodynamic and uses no animal-derived fining agents.