Whakapiripiri Mai, Clos des Plantes 2024

Clos des Plantes was established by Olivier and Sophie Lejeune in Anjou after Olivier spent years travelling and studying viticulture around the world, including formative time in New Zealand and alongside some of the Loire Valley’s most respected Chenin Blanc producers. The estate is based in the renowned Montbenault sector of Anjou, an area celebrated for its black schist soils and home to some of the Loire’s most sought after Chenin Blanc vineyards. Farming is carried out organically, without herbicides or pesticides, with a strong focus on soil vitality and minimal intervention. In the cellar, fermentations are spontaneous, sulphur use is minimal and élevage is patient and deliberate, allowing the wines to express the depth, tension and mineral complexity that have made Montbenault one of the Loire’s most revered terroirs. Despite relatively small production, Clos des Plantes has developed a cult following amongst Chenin enthusiasts, with Poïèsis increasingly regarded as one of the appellation’s benchmark bottlings.

WHAKAPIRIPIRI MAI means assemble, gather together in Maori. Olivier Lejeune met Falco, a Croatian artist on the small island of Waiheke near Auckland while studying a Wine science diploma. He and Sophie from Australia have painted this amazing piece on a wall of a school in Mexico. Whakapiripiri Mai celebrates the amazing talent of these two artists coming from different backgrounds, and the blend of grapes from two different parcels: “les cailloux” and “clos des plantes” to craft a rather singular profile of Chenin blanc.

From 30yo vines planted on Schist/ Quartz + Phtanites, Rhyolite, Spilite soils. 

The dominant soil typehere is Schist, with slivers of Quartz in Les Cailloux, as well as phtanites, Rhyolites, and Spilites, which are all the result of old seismic activity in the region. Olivier recovered these neglected parcels in early 2017, a mammoth undertaking that has handsomely paid off. He is a believer in regenerative farming, aiming to do the minimum amount of ploughing (if any at all), and working with principles of agroforestry as well as introducing animals into the parcels and much more.

Producer   Clos des Plantes of Olivier and Sophie Lejeune

Origin Montbenault, Anjou,Loire, France

Grapes Chenin blanc

Vintage 2024

Alcohol 12% ABV

Style Medium body white 

Bottle size 750ml

Winemaking Manual harvest,whole bunch fermented in fibre glass and steel with indigenous yeast, aged untouched in the same vats for 8 months. Unfined, unfiltred, little SO2 added at bottling.

Notes Natural, Organic