Eric DUBOIS

Eric Dubois has a great deal of experience in Winery of organic, biodynamic and animal traction. His wines (those made at Clos Cristal) perfectly express this subtle balance between terroir, tradition, nature and human work. Wines with a rich and intense imprint, with a strong identity.

A new adventure in natural wine

After the Clos Cristal, Eric and his wife went in search of vineyards with no real geographical constraints and with some criteria that Eric tells us about here: "

• no vineyard inserted in a huge massif of monoculture, like many appellations,
• vineyard grouped together, because we are not mechanized,
• with as many grape varieties as possible,
• the presence of water, whether marine or river, was also an important point."

After a few months of wandering around France and elsewhere, Eric came to visit Loïc Mahé, with a friend who was looking for vineyards, and it was there that he found his wishes gathered: Château la Franchaie in La Possonnière, a village near Savennières.

Eric and Alex Dubois rent the vineyards and winery. A Winery of 5.5 ha of vines (organic since 2011 by Loïc Mahé) which is organized in 2 large plots: the first one gathered around the winery and the second one a few kilometers away, facing south along the Loire.

Organic wines full of identity

The Winery is generally on schist in the western continuity of Savennières and clay. Eric Dubois describes this Winery as "complex culture, small yields, but big identity". Identity is a word that often comes up when talking about Clos Cristal. Identity is also what we have always appreciated in Eric's work, a touching, sensitive, humble and unsure character.

We are touched by his confidence in us by offering to buy the wines of the new era from his first vintage. We leave the final word to Eric Dubois who tells us about his first vintage at La Franchaie :

"The first harvest of 2018 was a gift from heaven, with harvests spread out over more than a month, and allowing access to the best ripeness."

Enjoy your meal!