Story
Marie Thibault
Touraine · Loire · France
Marie Thibault runs a micro-estate in Azay-le-Rideau, in Touraine on the middle Loire. She began farming organically in 2011 and gained Ecocert certification in 2014, working roughly three and a half to five hectares of Chenin Blanc, Grolleau, Gamay and Côt on white clay, limestone and flint (silex). After years learning the region’s cool clay-limestone slopes, she settled into a cellar rhythm of hand harvests, native yeasts and short, gentle macerations — her Grolleau often whole-cluster for about ten days. Sulphur stays low; the wines are bottled without heavy correction.
“The resulting bottles are juicy and direct, marked by the freshness of Azay rather than by extraction or new wood.”
Small production and a quiet reputation among Loire natural-wine drinkers have made her a discreet reference for Grolleau and Chenin that drink with clarity and modest alcohol. A personal, parcel-scale project rather than a large domaine.
