Riffault Akméniné

Their wines are considered unique in the A.O.C. Sancerre. Here, in the south-east of the Loire Valley (in Sury-en-Vaux), Sebastien Riffault sets himself apart from other winegrowers in the area with his natural wines. His work is based on a pure confidence; in the faith to do things differently from his family’s traditional way of doing things, who had been producing wine for generations.

In 2000 he started working with his father, Etienne Riffaut, but Sebastien soon began to use biodynamic principles on a small plot of land. What started as an experiment ended up stretching to the 12 hectares where they grow Sauvignon Blanc. Here, on a sandy, flint and clay soil, Riffault Akméniné is born. Every part of Riffault Akméniné is made by hand: from ploughing on horseback to harvesting by hand (which happens late to ensure good ripening). And of course no fertilisers or chemicals. This sometimes causes the berries to be affected by botrytis, a fungus that occurs in humid and hot conditions and ends up rotting the grapes. For this reason, it is very important that the Riffault Akméniné grapes are carefully selected when they reach the winery, to guarantee the quality of the berries that will be placed in large barrels, where they ferment naturally with native yeasts. This is where the wine will age for two years on its fine lees, also undergoing malolactic fermentation. Finally, after this, Riffault Akméniné is racked into wooden casks where it will spend another year until it is finally bottled by gravity, without refining or filtering.