The origins of Domaine Patrice Moreux goes back to 1677 when Edme Corty laid the foundations of a small Domaine in Pouilly. André Moreux bought his first vines in 1702, but on the other side of the Loire, in Sancerre. It is incredible to think that their love of wine and the land would straddle 300 years of history and descend down through 12 generations!
These origins explain their current presence in the appellation of Pouilly-Fumé, and more exactly Les Loges, and in Sancerre at Chavignol. These two regal appellations of Sauvignon Blanc were united in 1955 by the marriage of Jeannine Corty and Raymond Moreaux, direct descendants of Edme and André. As a wedding present, their parents gave them a 4.5 hectares parcel of vineyards on a hillside – the ‘Loge Aux Moines’.
Loge Aux Moines
This parcel is part of the original vineyard of Pouilly, and was in fact the first cultivated vineyard in the appellation by the Benedictine monks of the 11th century.
Facing due South, overlooking the Loire, it benefits from the first rays of sunlight, more warmth throughout the day, and also an exceptional terroir, 100% kimmeridgian marl, with poor fertility and the highest concentration of limestone in Pouilly.
The Domaine des Vingtinières
Patrice Moreux, the only son of Jeannine and Raymond, was given the keys to the house in 1979. He looked to preserve, improve and build on his inheritance. In 1996 his curiosity and passion for wine took him to a new, but not so different place - the ‘Domaine des Vingtinières’.
This vineyard in Provence, at the heart of the appellation Côte de Provence, surrounded by the Maures mountains, benefits from a microclimate and an exceptional terroir, made up of red earth and rock generally known as the ‘Permian plateau’. This too is an area destined to grow vines.
The Story Continues
Today this fine story continues with the sons – Arnaud and Julien Moreux – who have worked respectively at the family Domaine since 2009 and 2011.
In each bottle from the vineyards of Patrice Moreux you will above all be tasting the passion, the knowledge and a constant search for the truth, a philosophy where nature is the queen, leaving no place for any chemical interference or external yeasts. All ferments are natural and our wines are made with the greatest of respect for their terroir.
Vineyards
Their philosophy is simple: the vine is their church. Their environmental charter is to respect nature and the vines, which are the foundation of their passion.
This belief means limited intervention in the vines, reinforced by their understanding of the terroir. They observe the roots of their vines in the earth, understand the subtleties of the terroir, measure is capacity to nourish, evaluate the health of the vines, and take care of them.
Treatments are kept to the minimum, the rational nutrition of the soil (no chemical fertilizers, ploughing several times a year), allows them to exacerbate the plants physiology and its natural resilience. The vines are pruned short and manually de-budded, whilst observing and respecting the flow of the sap, in order to obtain the optimum durability of the vines and thus a higher concentration of grapes.
This trend of limited intervention, leading to lower yields, allows them to obtain healthy grapes, balanced, and capable of producing wines of great quality.
Their yields on the Loire valley and in Provence are respectively an average of 55 and 35 hectolitres per hectare, and they are 35 hectolitres per hectare for 65 allowed hectolitres.
Cellar
The aim is to respect the natural will of the grapes. All stages of vinification are carried out following the lunar cycle, the influence of the moon is crucial in the vinifying of their wines.
Finally, indigenous yeasts play a primordial role in our cellars. All of their ferments, without exception, are spontaneous. The indigenous microflora present on our grapes are the cradle of the yeasts. Each parcel is vinified separately, in thermos-regulated Inox tanks, having long and slow natural ferments. Thus the wines conserve their unique character, and under these conditions the terroir can speak freely.
They avoid uniformity, the standardization of wines, and do not subdue their varieties with the use of aromatic or pre-selected yeasts.
