Julien in 2014 was the driving force behind Les Roches Sèches, a domaine he created with two friends before splitting up in 2017, at which point he set out on his own with 3.5ha of vines around Faveraye-Mâchelles. A kind, sensitive and soft-spoken vigneron with a strong thirst for knowledge: as well as being a bee-keeper (a passion depicted on his labels), he studied winemaking in Dijon, brewed beer with monks in Belgium, made cheese in Italy and researched sake yeasts in Japan!
Returning to France he chose the Loire for its proximity to Brittany (where he grew up), and worked with two Vouvray growers, Vincent Carême and Sébastien Brunet, before settling down in the black Anjou. Moved by wines from Richard Leroy and Mark Angéli among others and enthralled by the electric quality of chenin on schist, Julien chose the (then) affordable Coteaux du Layon for his first project, Les Roches Sèches, in 2010.
Nowadays Julien rents a barn at the back of a farm, a rudimentary and DIY set up where wild-yeasts fermentations are carried out in fibreglass and oak, and sulphur is kept to a bare minimum if used at all. Planted in 1973 and 1955, his vines are scattered around five lieux-dits and they have been farmed organically for many years; the yields are low giving top-grade grapes which in return produce characterful wines.
This is a blend of two different lieux-dits: Le Jeau a west-facing schist slope overlooking the tiny Lys river, and Saint-Martin on deep gravelly soil with a good proportion of clay. Each variety is vinified separately in fibreglass vats, whole bunches are foot-trodden and ferment for a week with one pigeage a day by hand. Bottled on March 29th without fining or filtration, 20mg/l sulphur added. A delicious spicy and juicy fruit with surprising freshness for the vintage.
Producer Julien Delrieu
Origin Faveray-Mâchelles, Maine-et-Loire, France
Grapes 60% Grolleau, 40% Cabernet Franc
Vintage 2021
Alcohol 13% ABV
Style Medium body red
Bottle size 750ml
Winemaking Manual harvest, whole bunch, each variety vinified separately, fermented in fibre glass with indigenous yeast, unfiltred and unfined. Little SO2 added at bottling.
Notes Natural, Organic, Biodynamic
United Kingdom
All orders are shipped with Packfleet and DHL/DPD couriers; the estimated delivery time is between 1 to 3 working days from the processing moment. Orders placed Mon - Fri before midday (12pm) will be processed the same day. On delivery day, you will receive a text message from the courier with a 1-hour delivery window.
London within M25* - PACKFLEET (delivery Monday to Saturday)
- £7.99 for orders below £80
- £5.99 for orders over £80
- FREE for orders over £120
*All Postcodes within M25, see the full lis here https://app.packfleet.com/coverage
England, Wales and Scotland - DHL/DPD (delivery Monday to Saturday)
- £7.99 for orders below £80
- £5.99 for orders over £80
- FREE for orders over £120
Northern Ireland, Scottish Highlands, and Islands* - DHL/DPD (delivery Monday to Friday)
- £9.99 for orders below £150
- FREE for orders over £150
*Postcodes (AB31-AB38, AB40-AB56, IV1-IV63, HS, KW1-KW17, PA20-PA38, PA41-PA49, PA60-PA78, PH4-PH44, PH49-PH50, BT, ZE, IM(Isle of Man), Channel Islands)
Europe
Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia
Unfortunately at this moment we are not able to ship to Spain
All orders are shipped via UPS Express Delivery. The estimated delivery time is between 3 to 8 working days from the moment of processing.
We offer shipping to all the countries mentioned above for a flat fee of £18.99 per order, regardless of size or weight. Unfortunately, we cannot offer free shipping to these countries.
Due to internal regulations, we are unable to ship our wines to Sweden or Finland.
As an international customer, we will not charge you UK VAT or taxes. However, based on your country's regulations, you will need to pay customs and handling fees, which are generally around 20%.
USA, Canada, Asia, Australia
Although we ship regularly to these countries, we are unable to provide a fixed cost for shipping due to constant rate changes. Please contact us for a bespoke quote.
If your country is not listed in any of the categories above, please get in touch, and we'll be happy to assist and provide a quote if possible.
Packaging
We use only sustainable, recycled and recycling packaging that provides the highest standard of protection to the bottles. When possible, your wine is delivered in reused but reliable packaging that significantly helps the environment and also keeps down unnecessary costs, allowing the wines to do the talking.
Large deliveries
In some cases, large deliveries will be sent out with a wine courier and delivery time might vary. Please get in touch for more info.
