Lionel Gosseaume

If wine is in the blood, it seems you just can’t fight it. Lionel Gosseaume resisted until the age of 37, before giving in to the inevitable and taking on this small estate on the Touraine/Sologne border, between the Loire and its tributary the Cher. That was in 2007, and the name Lionel gave to this 15-hectare collection of eight parcels of vines across four communes was Domaine de Pierre, after his late vigneron father. Indeed, the family vineyards where Lionel grew up lie nearby.

Domaine de Pierre’s vineyards date back to the late 19th century, and in Lionel’s hands the wines they produce have risen above the Touraine norm, including a Sauvignon Blanc to put many Sancerres to shame for its concentration and power. Meanwhile, his Gamay exhibits a precision and suppleness that would make many a Beaujolais producer envious. Lionel freely admits that it’s a variety that could ‘run rings around’ him, but for a regime that combines heavy pruning with allowing the grass to grow between the rows, curbing the vine’s natural vigour.