Saint-Pourçain

Grower Profiles

Cédric Bonvin              

Domaine de la Sourde
Cédric and Benoît Bonvin have returned the family to viticulture after skipping a generation; the boys grandfather made wine in the 1960s from vines within Saint-Pourçain. They have been installed in the cellar owned by Jean-Pierre Purseigle In Louchy since 2006 and are renting both the 17 hectares of vineyards and the winery, but have bought all of the equipment. Cédric works the vineyard and makes the wines, whilst Benoît takes charge of the sales and marketing.

Purseigle himself has decided to withdraw from wine and concentrate on his remaining 40 hectares of cereals instead, but still lives in the ancient 16th Century monastery that adjoins the cellar. In turn, it was his grandfather who re-established Domaine de la Sourde in 1942.

The vineyards are split over the four communes of Louchy-Montfand, Saint-Pourçain, Bransat and Cesset and are planted to 5.5 hectares of Gamay, 4ha of Pinot Noir, 4ha of Chardonnay and 3.5ha of Tressallier. The entire harvest is picked by machine.

In terms of the wines, the Bonvins have respected the labels of their landlord and continued with the majority of Purseigle’s range where there was an established market, but have also introduced their own at the same time. The Réserve de la Source takes its name from the spring that literally rises up out of the cellar floor. Its a blend of 90% Tressallier and 10% Chardonnay, with the wines being aged on their lees for one year before bottling. The Cuvée Estivale is the single rosé and counts for about 7% of the production. It is produced using both saignée and pressurage direct methods. The Cuvée Bourbonnaise is the first of the red wines and corresponds to six hectares of Gamay and Pinot Noir (the split is around 65%/35%) whilst the Cuvée Crechoux is the reverse and takes its name from a lieu-dit in Cesset which contains the oldest of the Purseigle owned vines. A third cuvée, Les Hautes Vignes, is from Pinot Noir aged in barrel for 12 months and is marked heavily by the wood. The label used is a replica of that used by the Bonvin’s grandfather in the 1960s.

The most interesting wine here at present is the Bonvins white. The reds are all a little to tannic and extracted, whilst showing some acidity and astringany. They are still finding their way, but having been schooled at the Lycée Viticole in Beaune, Cédric should be a safe pair of hands moving forward. 

Cédric et Benoît Bonvin
Domaine de la Sourde
La Sourde
11 rue Sainte-Catherine
Louchy-Montfand
T : + 33 4 70 45 42 53
F : + 33 4 70 45 69 13
P : + 33 6 32 15 44 56
domainedelasourde@cegetel.net

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