Domaine de Juchepie

Domaine de Juchepie is a biodynamic winery and vineyard located in Faye-d'Anjou, in the Coteaux du Layon appellation of Anjou in the Loire Valley of France. The estate sits on a hillside ridge overlooking the Layon river valley, in the Maine-et-Loire department, approximately 30 kilometres southeast of the city of Angers. Its vineyards produce both dry white wines and celebrated sweet and liquoreux wines from Chenin Blanc, as well as a small amount of red wine.

History

Domaine de Juchepie was founded by Belgian couple Eddy and Mileine Oosterlinck-Bracke, who originally came from Flanders. In 1985, while on a trip to the Loire Valley, they discovered a longère — a traditional long farmhouse — nestled at the top of a hillside planted with old vines in the village of Faye-d'Anjou. At the time, Eddy Oosterlinck was running his family's hardware business in Belgium, and winemaking was far from his mind. Over the following years, however, the idea matured, and the couple set themselves a fifteen-year plan to gradually acquire a vineyard estate and develop their terroir.

The domaine progressively took shape through the late 1980s and 1990s, with additional vineyard parcels acquired over time, a cellar and winery constructed, and the first vintage released in 1989. Eddy and Mileine relocated permanently to Faye-d'Anjou in 2001, at which point the Domaine de Juchepie was formally established as a full-time winemaking operation.

From the outset, the couple committed to farming without synthetic chemicals, with the vineyards certified organic in 1994. In 2007, the domaine transitioned fully to biodynamic agriculture, earning certification from Biodyvin, the international syndicate of biodynamic winegrowers. Harvesting is carried out entirely by hand, and pressing is done using a traditional vertical manual press to handle the grapes with the greatest possible care.

In the early years, production focused primarily on the sweet and liquoreux wines for which the Coteaux du Layon is renowned. Around 2000, Mileine Oosterlinck championed the development of a dry white wine range — a practical as well as creative decision, as the unpredictable sweet wine harvests of the Layon, which depend on the formation of noble rot or natural drying of the grapes, do not always lend themselves to regular production. The dry wines quickly earned recognition in their own right alongside the liquoreux.

The wines of Domaine de Juchepie are distributed internationally, appearing on tables at notable restaurants in France, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, and the United States.

Viticulture and winemaking

The Juchepie vineyard extends across approximately 8 hectares, situated on south- and southwest-facing slopes within the Coteaux du Layon-Faye sub-appellation. The estate lies in a small natural depression open only to the west, with surrounding hills providing shelter from the north, south and east. The proximity of the Layon river, approximately one kilometre to the south, together with morning mists rising from the valley, creates the humid conditions that encourage the development of botrytis on the grapes in favourable vintages.

The soils are a mosaic of rhyolite in the Les Churelles parcel and grey-green schist and spilite in the Les Quarts parcel — volcanic and metamorphic substrates that are prized for the mineral tension and aromatic precision they bring to Chenin Blanc.

Chenin Blanc accounts for approximately 85% of the plantings, used for both dry and sweet wines. Cabernet Franc represents around 14% of the vineyard, and Pineau d'Aunis the remainder.

In the winery, Eddy Oosterlinck works with indigenous yeasts, avoids filtration and fining wherever possible, and uses a combination of stainless steel tanks, clay amphorae, and oak barrels depending on the cuvée. Residual sulphur is kept to a minimum. The philosophy is one of minimal intervention, with the character of the terroir and the vintage allowed to express itself freely.

The liquoreux wines are produced only in favourable years, when the conditions allow for natural concentration of the grapes through noble rot or passerillage (drying on the vine). Because of this, not all cuvées are released every year.

Wines

The domaine produces a range of dry white wines under the Anjou Blanc appellation, including the cuvées Les Monts, Le Clos, La Jarre (aged in sandstone jars), and Paradis. Sweet wines are produced under the Coteaux du Layon-Faye designation, including Les Churelles, Les Quarts, La Passion (aged in new oak barrels), and the intensely concentrated La Quintessence. A red wine from Pineau d'Aunis is also produced, aged in clay amphorae.