Étienne Bodet is the fifth generation of his family to farm the Jurassic limestone around Montreuil-Bellay in Saumur. They’ve been making sparkling and still wines here for over a century. In 2020 he struck out on his own, but not before building a seriously impressive CV.

After studying viticulture and oenology, Étienne trained with Sylvain Pataille, whom he credits as a major influence. He then spent time at Domaine Bernard Baudry, with François Dal, and with Aurélien Gerbais in Champagne. Around the 2020 vintage he spent ten months at Domaine Guiberteau. Romain Guiberteau is also his godfather! From 2021 to 2023 he was part of the winemaking team at Clos Rougeard.


Back home in Saumur, he farms organically and biodynamically, with certification in the works. In the vineyard he uses only copper, sulphur and selected biodynamic preparations. Vines are pruned Guyot-Poussard and everything is harvested by hand.

In the cellar native yeasts, no sulphur during vinification, gentle macerations with no punch-downs or pump-overs, and some whole bunch depending on the vintage. The wines spend at least two years in barrel, followed by additional time in tank or bottle before release.