Les Jardins de Theseïs

LES JARDINS DE THESEÏS  | VIN DE FRANCE | THESÉE

We're delighted to announce the latest addition to the Kiffe family, a new domaine from The Loire Valley "Les Jardins de Theseiis" of Anouk Lavoie-Lamoureux and Paul-André Risse.

They've taken on 4.9ha of vineyards in Thesée, Loir-et-Cher, planted and previously worked by Bruno Allion, who has been farming impeccably since the late 90s (Demeter certified since 97). The name of their domaine refers to the 16th century namesake of the village. And points to the fact that the majority of vineyards are co-planted with fruit trees and vegetable gardens. Rather than put their own name on the label, they chose to pay homage to this, wanting to cherish the land and pass it on to the next generation as Bruno did with them.

2018 is their first solo vintage, and what an incredible year it has been for them as this also gave birth to their daughter. It was not an easy one, as Paul recalled when we visited last year, saying that at one point Anouk had two babies crying at home - their daughter and him - for fear of losing the entire harvest with the persistent pressure of disease.

The duo have an incredible pedigree inside the wine world and out. Both biologists and researchers in the field of respiratory diseases, with a passion for wine, they came to study in Montpellier and Italy and worked with various estates including the likes of Mark Angeli and Chateau Palmer.

Their wines are barrel-aged and sulphur-free. Bruno's cellar is a very old one, dug directly into the sandstone hills keeping it naturally cool all year long. They favour long and homogeneous fermentation. The whites are aged in used Burgundy barrels, and the reds in second-hand barrels from Chateau Palmer. They show great confidence, depth and personality. Having been there at the beginning of their wine journey, studying in the same class, it was clear that out of the 30 students these two would go on to do great things!