Portraits of winemakers

CHÂTEAU DE FOSSE-SÈCHE, ADRIEN AND GUILLAUME PIRE: BIOVERSITY ACTIVISTS IN THE SAUMUR VINEYARDS

A Childhood in Africa That Left Its Mark

Adrien and Guillaume are nature enthusiasts. And for good reason: as children, the jungle was their playground. "Our father was an agronomist specializing in hydraulics in West Africa, and our mother's second husband was a winemaker in Madagascar. We spent our childhood between these two parts of Africa," Adrien recounts. "Such a childhood leaves its mark," comments Guillaume, who considers his parents gave him "the greatest gift."

These marks are still evident decades later at Château de Fosse-Sèche, a family-owned vineyard taken over by Adrien and Guillaume's stepfather in 1998. Located in the heart of the Saumur appellation, Château de Fosse-Sèche is one of the oldest French wine estates. Spanning 45 hectares, including 15 hectares of vines, the vineyard is situated within a protected agricultural natural area. Surrounded by a green enclosure and flanked by two large forests, this idyllic setting and abundance of nature motivated the two brothers to take over the management of the estate in 2012.

"The Wine Industry Needs a Revolution!"

Guillaume and Adrien's ambitious project is to place the concept of life at the heart of their profession. This approach begins with studying biodiversity and preserving the surrounding environment. "Viticulture is too often practiced with purely profit-driven goals. The wine industry needs a revolution!" asserts Guillaume. As members of the International Biodynamic Winegrowers Association Biodyvin, Château de Fosse-Sèche cultivates all its vines biodynamically. "But our approach goes far beyond biodynamic viticulture," the brothers emphasize, also closely studying the reproduction of birds, insects, bats, and amphibians. "Let's say we dedicate 30 hectares to biodiversity for 15 hectares of vines," summarizes Guillaume, who believes that effective biodynamic cultivation can only be achieved in a vineyard where biodiversity is preserved. "Practicing this type of cultivation wouldn't make much sense in a vineyard squeezed between two highways with nonexistent flora and fauna," adds the winemaker.

Wines "Without Makeup" at Château de Fosse-Sèche

Naturally committed to quality, the two winemakers produce two cuvées per year: Éolithe and Arcane. The former is a red wine made from cabernet franc. As the flagship wine of the estate, it represents 60% of Château de Fosse-Sèche's production. The Arcane cuvée, on the other hand, is a single-variety white made from chenin. "Our wines are not sprinters but marathon runners: they don't run 100 meters but 10,000 meters, their length in the mouth is incredible!" exclaims Guillaume. The winemakers also strive to maintain authenticity. To achieve this, they age their wines in oval-shaped concrete tanks and avoid wooden barrels to produce "unadorned wines," as Guillaume likes to call them. "I want the terroirs and soil typicity to be recognizable. We create pure wines without altering their true nature. It's like a chef who chooses to grill scallops with a drizzle of olive oil to enhance them rather than drowning them in cream."

A Restaurant in Montreuil-Bellay with a Waterside Terrace

Open 365 days a year, including Christmas and New Year's Day, Château de Fosse-Sèche warmly welcomes visitors for a tour of the estate and wine tasting. "There are plants everywhere, but no walls," joke the Pire brothers. Recently, Adrien and Guillaume (along with three of their friends) also acquired a restaurant with a terrace by the water in Montreuil-Bellay, a medieval town in Maine-et-Loire. Their specialty? A wine list featuring the very first vintages from young winemakers in the region as well as cuvées from renowned winemakers in France and around the world…