Julien Prével
Montlouis-sur-Loire, Loire Valley, France
Julien Prével’s road to farming vineyards and making wine in Montlouis-sur-Loire is far from conventional. Originally from Angers, Julien left to study history and geography in Normandy before winding up back in the Loire in 2010 to farm vegetables near Tours.
The following year he landed a job pruning Frantz Saumon’s vineyard and the year following he was offered the opportunity to tend to a 20-acre vineyard which had until then been tended by Stéphane Cossais, an incredible natural vigneron who tragically passed away in 2009.
Julien now farms a total of 2.5 hectares of Chenin Blanc, Cot and Gamay. The wines are made in the old cellar of Stéphane Cossais — a former quarry turned into a working cellar many centuries ago — without any additions.
2018 Montjouis
Direct pressed, aged for 2 years in barrel and bottled without any additions. From the heart of Chenin country, this wine has an unbound energy and is incredibly stable. It has all the hallmarks of world class Chenin – opulence and richness with a core line of acidity.