Natural Wine Paragons, Full of Life and Terroir

Philippe Tessier is an OG Loire Valley Naturalista. Decades, now, they've been making cracklingly fresh wines full of that life force that you get from the best low-intervention wines. He checks all the mandatory boxes.  Farming: organic.  Sulfur: low to none. Yeasts: natural.

But when we first hunted Tessier's wines out (this was in Paris, in the '00s -- they weren't regularly available in America yet) it was because we heard that he was making some of the best Romorantin in France. Romoron-what, you might ask? Exactly. It's one of the Loire's very ancient, and nearly extinct, white grapes. Harder to farm and to vinify than modern favorites like Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, it fell out of favor over the centuries and never really came back after Phyloxera. Except in a very small AOC called Cour-Cheverny, where Tessier has his 40-ish-year-old vines. 

The Romorantin was a revelation. Dry but with honeyed fruit notes, and subtle floral and mineral accents. Delicious, different and just the thing to make so many dishes really sing (a dream ceviche pairing!). But Tessier's magic doesn't end with the Romorantin. Everything Phillipe does is worth checking out. But to get a clear sampling of the breadth of what he can do we think you should check out the Cour Cheverny together with his dangerously drinkable Pet-Nat, Phil En Bulle, and his Pinot Noir-Gamay blend, "Rouge Point du Jour." Like the Cour-Cheverny, the Cheverny Rouge is delicious proof that a bottle can be both a vibrant and slightly wild natural wine, and also a precise, silky and mineral wine of terroir. 

Domaine Philippe Tessier Phil En Bulle Pet-Nat Loire Valley NV - $34.99
This is the Pet-Nat you've been looking for. Fresh and fun with some of the Romorantin complexity. 

Domaine Philippe Tessier Cour-Cheverny Blanc Les Sables 2022 - $34.99
Sandy soils over clay subsoils give this a combination of easy-going deliciousness (that's the sand speaking, they say) and more serious and earthy depths (that would be the clay). There's no other grape quite like Romorantin and we hope you love it too!

Domaine Philippe Tessier Cheverny Rouge Point du Jour 2022 - $34.99
In addition to the clay there's limestone soils here and you can feel it in the silky structure of the wine and even taste it in the crunch. Red fruit, hints of exotic spices, this is a special Pinot Noir-Gamay blend.