Laurent Saillard spent many years in the restaurant industry in New York, working at Balthazar before going on to open one of the city’s first natural wine spots, iCi. With no academic education in winemaking, but armed with a love for the product and a wealth of experience in flavour, texture, and of course people, he left NYC in 2008 and moved back to France. In the Loire, Laurent began his journey as a winemaker, driven by the desire to make quality wines for the restaurant world he had left behind and, through these bottles, to tell the story of the land itself. He worked with Noëlla Morantin, and Didier Barouillet and Catherine Roussel of Clos Roche Blanche, experimenting with his own small batches alongside and going on to release his first vintage in 2012. When Didier and Catherine decided to retire in 2015, he had the opportunity to take on their vineyards, sharing these parcels with fellow winemaker Julien Pineau. On small plots surrounded by woodland, Laurent tends to seven hectares of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Côt, Gamay and Pineau d’Aunis, cultivating organically along with some biodynamic practices, and purchasing additional grapes from other growers with a similar approach to farming. Typically for the region, the cellar is tucked beneath the farmhouse, and houses a mixture of old wooden barrels, amphora, stainless steel tanks and fibreglass. The négoce wines are vinified in a different room, as required by French law, and are made without ageing and with easy-drinking in mind.
Un Été Partagé 2023 is one of these, the name translating as ‘a shared summer’. Made with 70% Gamay and 30% Grolleau Noir, from 40 year old vines growing on silex and loam soil, it’s full of herbal notes like thyme and marjoram, with medium tannins and a touch of bitterness which adds to the wine’s freshness. Given Laurent’s background as a restaurateur and chef, it comes as no surprise that his wines work fantastically with food, and this one is no exception. Chill slightly and drink alongside a hunk of bread topped with pâté, cornichons and wholegrain mustard.