Guide
to the Loire regions
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
Back
to top
|