Clos des Quarterons: Organic Viticulture in the Loire Valley

A few days before the start of the 2019 harvest, Xavier Amirault tells us the story of Clos de Quarterons. With great passion, he takes us on a journey to discover the riches of his terroir, from the Graviers terrace to the Tuffeau hillsides, where he tends his vines.

In the Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil region, Xavier Amirault is the winemaker at Clos de Quarterons. This family-owned estate has been passed down through the family for six generations. Xavier wasn’t always destined to take over the estate: he spent the early years of his career studying electronics and then working in Paris for a sound and lighting company. At age 30, with a desire to see the world, he set off for the United States with a new degree in international business in hand, working for a major Loire wine merchant.

Meanwhile, in Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil, Xavier’s older brother Thierry is in charge of the estate.

“In 2008, he was nearing retirement and had no one to take over the estate. So we began to wonder about the future of Clos de Quarterons,” says Xavier. From across the ocean, he and his wife Agnès decided to carry on the family legacy. “We agreed to take over the estate on two conditions: three years later and once the vineyard had been converted to organic farming. My brother was very enthusiastic about this project,” the winemaker says happily.

Xavier and Agnès Amirault are embarking on a wine-making adventure

Xavier settled at Clos des Quarterons in 2011, where he partnered with his brother for two years before taking over the entire estate. “I took charge of obtaining Demeter certification for biodynamics,” says Xavier. This has given the Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil estate a new lease on life, building on a solid foundation. “We launched a terroir study with the help of the ‘terroir unit’ at INRA in Angers. A colossal undertaking: 400 core samples and 24 open pits over two years allowed us to study vegetative and root cycles. From these studies, we gathered thousands of data points, maps, and plans of water reserves, stoniness, and more,” the winemaker explains.

Understanding your terroir to build your wine portfolio

Until now, knowledge of the terroir was based on expertise passed down from father to son and gained through observation. “We’ve been able to expand on that knowledge and understand it better. We’ve obtained a more detailed and precise analysis of the terroir, which has allowed us to rethink our production methods,” says Xavier.

Armed with this new understanding of their terroir, the Amirault family decided to revamp their wine portfolio. “We now work with greater precision, using different cultivation techniques and winemaking and aging methods tailored to the terroir,” explains the winemaker.

From the gravelly soils at the base of the hillsides, through the famous limestone known as tuffeau, to the clayier terroirs higher up, the winemakers have identified the potential for five cuvées. “We strive to express the terroir through its climate every year. The wines from the gravelly terroirs are round and silky. The limestone expresses itself more horizontally, with beautiful, crisp acidity on the finish. As for the clay soils, they produce wines with great depth. We often blend them with the limestone wines because they complement each other very well.”

Le Clos des Quarterons works with finesse and precision

Le Clos des Quarterons comprises 12 distinct terroirs, 54 plots, and 37 hectares of vineyards. This vineyard is as diverse as it is fragmented, and is managed to bring out the best in each plot; every plot is harvested and vinified separately. The winemakers craft the blends only after tastings: “We blend the single-parcel wines differently each year, depending on the vintage.” The goal is to produce wines that bring pleasure and evoke emotion while expressing the richness of the Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil terroir. “Every vintage is good if it is treated with respect, and we produce wines that reflect the terroir. These are wines for curious people who love wine and enjoy discovering new aromas.”

Biodynamics: Enhancing the Terroir

Biodynamics allows the Amirault family to express the terroir in their wines. “I began exploring biodynamics in the United States,” says Xavier. “I met people and tasted a wide variety of wines. Admittedly, biodynamics can seem both complicated and esoteric, but once I got past those initial impressions, I found it to make perfect sense; I enjoyed tasting the wines, and I really appreciated the philosophy of the people involved. Biodynamics isn’t just about the vineyards; it applies to all of agriculture, and it’s also a true social system,” Xavier enthuses.

In the vineyard, biodynamics is all about intuition, observation, and caring for the soil and the vines. According to Xavier, “Before you start working biodynamically, you have to be fully committed, because it involves a lot of hard work and pushing yourself to the limit.” The winemaker therefore learns to juggle between horn manure and horn silica, experiments with plant infusions to revitalize the vines, and adds silica to give them structure… “To make it work, you need a team that operates according to this philosophy,” says Xavier, who has built a team of 12 full-time employees to handle the necessary work.

Xavier and Agnès Amirault are turning to agroforestry

Curious by nature, Xavier never tires of learning, experimenting, understanding, and building. While he has found in biodynamics the philosophy and approach that allow him to develop the estate, he has no plans yet to call it a day. “I want to keep refining everything. In winemaking, I want to understand how to use the different amphorae. In the cellar, there are endless possibilities for simple winemaking techniques: maceration, whole-cluster fermentation, cement or buried eggs, and casks of various sizes,” he envisions. But the biggest project is likely in the vineyard, with the introduction of agroforestry. “I want to reintroduce trees and hedgerows, bring back biodiversity, and move away from monoculture vineyards. We’re also in the process of reintegrating the farm into the estate, bringing back the cultivation of fruit trees, vegetable gardens, and grains, as well as livestock—currently including geese and lambs—and, for the past two years, testing mobile chicken coops in the vineyards for the hens. My dream is to create a truly biodynamic farm in its entirety.”