A Chat with Complemen'terre

Complemen'terre

Le Pallet, Loire-Atlantique, France

We have been following the wines of Marion Pescheux and Manuel Landron for the last couple of years. Due to a few tricky vintages they haven’t had any wine available for us until now.

Manuel Landron is the son of Jo Landron (and cousin of Benoit). His dad travels a lot to promote his wines. However, Manu wants to keep things simple and has a very hands on approach in the vineyard.

Both Marion and Manu were born in Muscadet and have been around vineyards their whole lives. After a long time away working for winemakers in New Zealand (Felton Road Winery) and Chile (Domaine Clos Ouvert), they settled in 2013 in the village of le Pallet and work now with three grape varieties: Melon de Bourgogne (8 ha), Folle Blanche (0,68 ha) at la Haye-Fouassière, and Gamay (0,60 ha). The wines are all vinified by parcel with the aim of showing off the varied volcanic terroir of the region.

Marion and Manu are working organically and in line with the lunar calendar, in total respect of the soils and the nature.



Tell us about your 2018 harvest: What were your challenges?
2018 was really hard because we had to fight a lot against mildew. But we did it: ‘Marion & Manu 1 - Mildew 0'. In the cellar however the vinification was hard. The fermentation was very slow, with not enough acidity in the juice and large yields 48 hectolitres / hectare: ‘Wine 1 - Marion and Manu 0’


What went particularly well?
We were very happy with the wine in the end! There was also a good yield compared to previous vintages.


What do you anticipate for the 2019 harvest?
A late harvest, the grapes are just starting out right now. Plus, we are moving cellar during the summer.


What are the biggest changes you've seen in winemaking since you got started?
We filter our wine less. In 2016/17 we had no filtration at all. Also, we are finding less and less acidity in the juice every year. We are questioning ourselves constantly with, for example, the harvest date. The more you wait, the sweeter the wine gets, so you need to be careful to get the acidity levels right.


What do you like most/ least about your job?
We love pruning, because it’s quiet and relaxing, you are alone in the vineyard. On the other hand we like the harvest time too, because it's social with a lot of people around and there are lots of festivities.


What can you tell us about your future plans?
We want to get more into polyculture. We now have 5 beehives and would like to get some cows and sheep, too. We are also going to plant about 50 apple and pear trees around the vines.

New Producers Aboard: La Grange aux Belles

La Grange aux Belles

Soulaines-sur-Aubance, Angers, France

Situated in the heart of the Anjou appelation, the team at La Granges aux Belles produce wines with cleanliness and precision but also the drinkability that we look for in a UTB wine. We are excited to work with these wines due to the originality and the expression of where they are from.

The Chenins have unctuousness balanced with the acidity you would expect, the reds are light, deep in flavour but not overly grippy or stalky.

The seeds of La Grange aux Belles were planted in 2004 when Marc Houtin gave up a career in the oil industry to follow a passion for wine. He purchased a dozen hectares on the slopes of the Aubance river in Anjou.

At first they mainly supplied the co-operative of Brissac but Marc also experimented, vinifying and bottling some parcels individually.

After two great vintages, a difficult harvest in 2006 prompted Marc to seek the help of a partner. 

Julien Bresteau was interning at Domaine de Montgilet, the spark was right between them and they became friends. Julien had been studying wine since he was 15 and had been coming to help during harvest. In 2008 Marc invited Julien to join the Domaine and La Grange Aux Belles was born.

In 2008 they converted to organic agriculture. But Mother Nature's love was tough. A hard frost followed by vicious mildew meant the yields were catastrophic.

Two more characters joined the story; a need for further investment brought in old friend Rémi Fournier of "Chez Rémi” in Angers. Also lending his skills came Gérald Peau – aka "Jesse" – the first bartender of the legendary "Le Circle Rouge” wine bar in Angers.

For wines in stock, please contact hello@winesutb.com