Loire – Clément Baraut / l’Herbier du Vin

Murs-Erigné, Loire Valley

Clément Baraut is a vigneron based in Mûrs Erigné, a small town across the Loire River from the city of Angers in the rolling hills famous for their benchmark Chenin Blanc, and for being home to some of France’s canonical natural wines. Originally from Burgundy, Clément first came to Anjou around the year 2000. He initially worked as a viticultural consultant, helping local vignerons restore their vines and convert them to organics, and later biodynamics. He helped many farmers connect with like-minded winemakers, and vice-versa.

Eventually his role as a connector of sorts eventually nudged him towards the inevitable, and beginning in 2009, with the help of colleagues such as Nicolas Joly, he was able to acquire Chenin and a small number of vines in Bonnezeaux, Savennières, and Roche-aux-Moines. Today he operates his eponymous domaine, along with a small négociant project called Herbes Folles (wild grass). For the latter, he works exclusively with organic and biodynamic grapes sourced from local growers, with whom he maintains multi-year relationships.

Baraut’s wines are indeed another reminder of how the stewardship of prime terroir trumps all in winemaking and viticulture. The vines are certified organic, but in practice they are farmed according to biodynamic principles.. According to Clément, his philosophy in the vines is to “cause as little stress to the vines during the growing season.” Controversially, he eschews the common practices of hedging and shoot and leaf thinning (when second and third growth material is removed from the vine), allowing the vines to grow more freely.

In the cellar, the wines are made naturally, undergoing long fermentations, aided by no inputs during vinification or aging (only the occasional addition of SO2 at bottling is tolerated). Only natural yeasts are employed, and there is no filtration or harsh racking. Each of his three Savennières cuvées are raised in large neutral oak barrels. The result is a chiseled, structured expression of Chenin which are both in tune with the terroir and that of Clément’s core ideals surrounding natural winemaking, holistic farming, and clarity in the glass.