On the southern banks of the Loire River in the appellation of Cheverny, Philippe Tessier farms 23 hectares of vines utilizing organic principles. Perhaps more importantly, however, Philippe strives to make honest wines that respect the natural balance of his vines and the local ecosystem of the Loire Valley. He harvests by hand, utilizes neutral oak and native yeast, and nominally filters. His overriding goal is for his wines to reflect not the hand of the winemaker, but rather the original character of the vine, soil, and vintage.

What with all the radical natural wine exploding from every nook and cranny it can be easy to forget about a humble Loire winery like this. Vigneron Philippe Tessier’s quietly profound creations are the answer to every natural wine critic’s claim that natural means were unprofessional, unpolished, imperfect, and flawed. Year after year, despite a decade of harsh weather and brutally lean harvests, Tessier has executed a level of quality and consistency that marks him as a master of his craft. Tessier’s wines do not inspire slavish fandom; they’re much too modest and precise. Unconcerned with impressing anyone, these wines are far more interested in documenting the quiet glories of life pastoral. In short, a minimalist’s elevation of terroir!