Re-imagining Touraine: Young and Talented Duo Jean-Baptiste Bonnigal and Stéphane Bodet Isolate Localities and Varieties to Create Loire Reds and Whites with Expression and Finesse. 6-Bottle (4 White & 2 Red) Sampler Pack $185

This week we feature a pair of remarkable vignerons, Jean-Baptiste Bonnigal and Stéphane Bodet. This talented duo have concentrated their skills on the best plots in Amboise, a six-hundred-acre Touraine appellation where the varietal focus is Côt (Malbec) and Chenin.

With over a hundred acres under their stewardship—32 red and 71 white—they rely on hand-harvesting, organic viticulture and a passion for coaxing out the best qualities from these often under-rated grapes.

Their offerings put a spotlight not only on these varieties, but on what modern biodynamics can do to improve vineyards in a time of changing climate.

Touraine: Smorgasbord of Viticulture

Touraine, sitting precisely midway between Sancerre and Nantes, is known for nothing quite as much as variety. Excelling at white, red, rosé or sparkling wines (made in all three colors), it is a smorgasbord for a wine-lover’s palette.

The white wines are most commonly based on Sauvignon Blanc, which accounts for 43% of Touraine plantings; Chenin Blanc comes a distant second at 7% while Chardonnay may comprise up to 20% of blends while taking up only 3% of vineyard area.

Touraine’s red grape counterparts are led by Gamay, planted in 21% of Touraine’s vineyard area. Cabernet Franc and Malbec (known here as Côt) follow in popularity, with smaller proportions of Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir found here and there.

AOP Touraine is one of the biggest appellations in the Loire Valley, extending from Chambord to Azay-le-Rideau, passing by Chenonceaux and Chaumont-sur-Loire, overlooking the Loire here and growing along the Cher there. Each denomination has its own personality, its own focus and strength. Azay-le-Rideau makes rosé from Grolleau; Chenonceaux makes reds and rosés from Gamay; Mesland specializes in Sauvignon Blanc as does Touraine-Oisly.

In Touraine Amboise—the area of most interest to Bonnigal and Bodet—has a grape culture influenced by the denomination’s flinty clay soils.

Going Underground in Touraine: Surprisingly Uniform. All About Limestone

If there is a common thread in the great wine regions of Champagne, Burgundy, Chablis, the Loire and southern Rhône valleys—and Saint-Émilion in Bordeaux—it is limestone. Not limestone as a solid rock, which is too hard for vine roots to penetrate, but in the form of plant-accessible calcium carbonate (the principal chemical component of limestone) typically from decayed outcroppings.

There are multiple reasons for this, but most of them involve water. Calcium-based soils have water-retention properties that are ideal for growing vines; water is essential for cation exchange (the process by which plants take up nutrients through their roots). But the same vines will suffer in waterlogged soils. Calcium-rich soil has a chemical structure composed of molecular sheets held together by ionic attractions, a structure that permits the soil to retain moisture in periods of dry weather and allows for good drainage during heavy rains.

In Touraine’s limestone underpinning was created through the uplifting of the extensive limestone beds of the Paris Basin during the Pleistocene era, which began about between 2.5 million years ago and lasted until relatively recently, about 11,700 years ago. It diverted the flow of the Loire Séquanaise, shifting its course away from the north. As it did so it joined up with the lower section, creating the Loire as we know it today. So dominant is the limestone in  the terroir of Touraine that particular type is named for the appellation: Turonian limestone is, in places, 400 feet deep.

2022: Solar Vintage Tamed

The 2022 vintage in Touraine is entitled to wear the vigneron’s badge ‘solar vintage.’ As the name suggests, the 2022 growing season was aggressively warm and sunny. In general, this leads to optimal conditions for any flora, including grapes. The irony is, optimal conditions may produce lackluster wines while struggling vines tend to produce juice that is concentrated and complex. Also, when grapes ripen too quickly, they lose acidity, which is the irreplaceable counterpoint to sugar is a balanced wine.

Fortunately, the solution in Touraine was early and optimal picking, before the grapes became so ripe that ultimate alcohol percentages climbed to the roof—this is a double whammy to quality. Lower acidities work better with modest alcohol levels, and this is precisely what you will find in 2022 Touraine.

Bonnigal-Bodet, Vignerons
Touraine-Amboise

“One of the Revelations of Recent Years in Touraine!” La Revue du Vin de France ‘Guide Vert 2025’

In the wonderful fusion of winemaking and entrepreneurial passion, we frequently celebrate obscure producers working from miniscule plots of vines. We may write about winemakers working from a few hand-tended acres, often in inhospitable terrain. But when you move from rural mountain vineyards in Priorat to the sprawling gardens of the Loire, it is sometimes surprising to see how large some of the holdings are. And it is refreshing to realize that size does not diminish passion.

In 2015, Jean-Baptiste Bonnigal and Stéphane Bodet jointly took over Bonnigal’s 136-acre, fourth-generation family domain in Limeray, near Amboise—the heart of the Loire valley. Having trained in both New Zealand and Bordeaux (they met while studying in Montagne-Saint-Émilion), the winemakers focus on organic and biodynamic practices to create wines of precision and purity.

Jean-Baptiste Bonnigal and Stéphane Bodet, Bonnigal-Bodet, Vignerons

Says Jean-Baptiste: “I invited Stéphane to join me in Limeray because we share the same professional goals and have a similar perspective on nature. We embrace the land and diligently working the vineyards with regular aerating of the soil by hoeing every two weeks. We promote and support microbial life by cultivating various plants and treat vines are treated only when absolutely necessary.”

These are sentiments echoed by Stéphane: “For us, our terroir best transcribed through the environment in which a vine flourishes. We are also convinced that wine is produced in the vineyard before being transformed into nectar, so we are very little interventionist in the cellar in order to allow the wine to express itself in the most natural way and with all the complexity that the word ‘terroir’ implies. Our key direction is respect; respect for the soils, for the grapes, for the environment, for the process that transforms the juice into wine.”

Varietal Focus: Highlighting Chenin and Côt

Known locally as ‘Pineau Blanc de la Loire,’ Touraine lock on quality Chenin is most evident in Vouvray, but the rest of the appellation creates Chenin of depth and electricity. The cool climate and sharp acidity allow this often neutral variety to take on amazing nuance whether vinified dry, off-dry, or decadently sweet.

Although delightful upon release, the characteristic of Touraine Chenin that is most striking is its ability develop tertiary notes with age; in fact, unlike the Sauvignon Blancs and Chardonnay produced here, cellar-worthy Chenins are the rule rather than the exception.

Côt—the Touraine word for Malbec—is another variety that is pampered toward perfection by the vignerons of Touraine, who often blend it with Cabernet Franc. Côt brings color, body and specific aromas to wine, notably pepper and licorice. Like Touraine Chenin, Côt—vinified with this end in mind—is noted for its ability to mature with age.

 1  Bonnigal-Bodet, Vignerons ‘Clocher – Chenin’, 2022 Touraine-Amboise Blanc ($35)
Le Clocher is a south-facing, clay-limestone plot above the village of Limeray where the Chenin vines are 25 years old. The grapes are carefully sorted, then direct pressed Alcoholic fermentation occurs spontaneously with native yeasts in 620 liter demi-muids followed by 8 months of aging on fine lees. The wine is bottled with 1.8 grams/liter of residual sugar and coats the tongue with texture, offering spicy apple, fresh peaches and a touch of marmalade on the finish.

 2  Bonnigal-Bodet, Vignerons ‘Clos de Beauce – Chenin’, 2022 Touraine-Amboise Blanc ($35)
100% Chenin from a historic, south-facing Cangey vineyard where vine age is 50 to 70 years. The ‘Beauce’ name derives from the limestone terroir. The grapes are hand-harvested, direct-pressed and fermented on native yeasts in a combination of 225-liter neutral barriques and 620-liter demi-muids. Aged a full year on the lees, it is bottled without malolactic and with 1 gram/liter of residual sugar left behind. The wine shows baked apple, pear, ripe citrus, toasted nuts with hints of honeysuckle and wet stone.

 3  Bonnigal-Bodet, Vignerons ‘Buisson – Chenin’, 2022 Touraine-Amboise Blanc ($44)
Buisson is made from younger vines, under ten years in age; it is the processing that really builds the depth in this 100% Chenin: The cuvée is aged a full 20 months; 12 months in 620-liter demi-muids on fine lees and 8 months in stainless-steel vats. The wine is then bottled with 2 gram/liter of residual sugars. It shows a distinctively sweet floral aroma and the tangy savor of grapefruit.

 4  Bonnigal-Bodet, Vignerons ‘Génésis – Côt’, 2022 Touraine-Amboise Rouge ($31)
100% Côt that has been harvested manually and sorted on a vibrating table. Carbonic maceration is whole bunch and occurs over nine days of vatting followed by nine months of stainless-steel aging. The wine displays cassis and blackberry liqueur with fresh, forward fruit and silky tannins.

 5  Bonnigal-Bodet, Vignerons ‘Diabolicôt’, 2022 Touraine Rouge ($20)
As the devilish name suggests, Diabolicôt is 100% Malbec, known as Côt in Touraine. The grapes are harvested by hand, and undergo carbonic maceration in foudres following which they ferment on indigenous yeasts for 10 days. Aging last eight months on fine lees; the wine shows bold grape tannins and subtle oak notes behind rich blueberry-plum jam.

 6  Bonnigal-Bodet, Vigneron ‘Sauvignon Blanc’, 2022 Touraine Blanc ($20)
Hand harvested and fermented on indigenous yeasts, the wine ages on fine lees for three months in stainless steel and is bottled without malolactic. It displays a pale-yellow hue glinted with hints of gold and shows a citrus bouquet (especially grapefruit) complemented by a delightful floral finish.

Notebook …

Talented Artisan Vignerons in Touraine: A Quiet Revolution

Land at bargain basement prices in the Garden of France? Touraine, bolstered by the presence of the SAFER group (which controls the sale of agricultural land) is so welcoming to newcomers that it seems an obvious destination for new artisanal winemakers looking to make their mark. This is not a new phenomenon; the AOP has been attracting new waves of natural winemakers since the 1990s.

In fact, so flexible has the region been for young iconoclasts leaning toward experimentation that a new dilemma has arisen: How to find the ideal style and substance to best showcase Touraine’s remarkable terroirs? Ancient varieties like Pineau d’Aunis have retained a foothold while standbys like Sauvignon Blanc are being shifting to supporting roles. As always, tuffeau and flint produce a compelling expression of Chenin—one that is edgier and more bracing than elsewhere—and as these wines grow more popular, another quandary may loom among these talented freshmen (and freshwomen): How can they avoid becoming a monoculture appellation driven by financial success where everyone is chasing the same thing?

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Posted on 2024.10.17 in Touraine, France, Wine-Aid Packages, Loire