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Domaine René Renou Bonnezeaux Cuvée Zénith 1995

“While we can find Chenins all over the world, we can only find Bonnezeaux in Thouarcé in Anjou. The more we have an identity, therefore a difference, the less we will feel the power of the world market. Either we consider wine as an artisanal, artistic, cultural product with its typicity, personality, originality, even rarity. Or we make an industrial product. It is up to the viticulteur to choose.”

– Rene Renou, April 1994

René Renou (1952 – 2006) was a disruptive reformer who, during his time as president of the Institut National des Appellations d’Origine (INAO), intended to rebuild the entire appellation system, which he regarded as a hindrance to vignerons and consumers alike. He was also, as should be apparent from the subject of this report, a viticulteur and vigneron himself, as it happens a very talented one. But more on his wines in a moment; let us begin with the man.

Renou was a sixth-generation vigneron who worked from cellars in the centre of Thouarcé, in the Bonnezeaux appellation, which had been signed off in 1954, just two years after Renou’s birth. His significance within the appellation was made clear when he took on the presidency of the local syndicat in 1979, aged just 27 years, a position which he still held two decades later. He went on to rise within the ranks of the INAO and, as noted above, later assumed the presidency of this organisation in 2000. He was re-elected in 2006.

It was his work within the INAO which demonstrated Renou’s willingness to upset the apple cart. He was convinced that the appellation system had become too restrictive for winemakers, as well as confusing for consumers, and he voiced these views in a candid manner, unusual in the upper echelons of French wine administration. His plan was to create a two-tier system; on the upper tier would be the most prestigious appellations, which would remain strictly controlled. The next level down, however, would allow vignerons much more freedom in how they worked and in the style of wines they made.

It would have been fascinating to see Renou’s reforms take shape. Would it have prevented the exodus from the appellation system, not least on René’s doorstep in Anjou, led by the likes of Mark Angeli, Richard Leroy, Olivier Cousin and others? We will never know, because tragically Renou died in 2006, aged just 54 years, his life cut short by cancer. A year later Yves Bénard, from the Champagne region, was elected to the presidency, and Renou’s reforms were shelved.

Domaine René Renou Bonnezeaux Cuvée Zénith 1995

Coming back to his wines, while the Renou family had a long heritage in the region, during the 1980s René threw his towel in with a group of partners to make wines under the Domaine de Terrebrune label. I once drank a 1943 Domaine de Terrebrune Bonnezeaux with Jo Pithon, although I believe this was what we might call a ‘museum release’ from Renou’s cellars, sold under the Terrebrune label. Renou’s cellars were presumably rich in old bottles, and other ‘Terrebrune’ vintages – some from the very early years of the 20th century – occasionally pop up for sale.

In 1995 Renou and his partners went their separate ways; the partners took the Terrebrune brand (and still use it today – I previously reported on a 2014 Terrebrune Bonnezeaux), while Renou set out working under his own name, making wines which clearly reflected the artisanal philosophy he spoke of in the words cited at the top of this page. The split was reportedly amicable, Renou saying his plan was to do “mon tricot dans mon coin,” which translates as planning to do his own knitting in his own corner. I suspect the partners had a less artisanal stance that did not sit well with Renou’s philosophy.

The 1995 vintage was thus a watershed for René Renou, the first for some time in which he released his wines under his own name. He favoured the creation of cuvées parcellaires which reflected their terroirs of origin, including the clay soils of Beauregard and the schist of La Montagne (two of the three ‘hills’ of Bonnezeaux), as well as Les Melleresses, a highly regarded lieu-dit. In 1995, however, the development of botrytis pushed Renou’s harvest to a potential alcohol of 23%, giving him scope to produce a grains nobles cuvée which is exactly what he did, baptising it Cuvée Zénith; with a few assumptions, with 13% alcohol declared on the label, it suggests the residual sugar in this cuvée could be about 170 g/l (anyone who knows better, do please get in touch).

Tasting it, that figure seems entirely believable. In the glass the 1995 Bonnezeaux Cuvée Zénith from René Renou presents a burnished and fiery red gold, an appearance I would associate with a liquoreux cuvée rather than one which was ‘merely’ moelleux. And it has a richly expressed botrytis character on the nose; with its multiple layers of marmalade, crème brûlée, baklava honey pastries, toast, black tea and liquorice, this is something of a noble rot aromatic masterclass. This sense of richness is faithfully transmitted onto the palate, which impresses with a dense and spicy texture, wrapped up in sweetly honeyed nuts and pastries, with shimmering sweetness and fresh acidity. It finishes dense and long, the curtains drawn on what it is a remarkable and perhaps slightly idiosyncratic example of Bonnezeaux. This is a great wine, with plenty of freshness and acid lift to balance out the botrytised richness, and plenty of vigour for its thirty years. Having said that, its concentrated and botrytis-driven liquoreux style feels more typical of a richly botrytised Quarts de Chaume than the more nervy and mineral style I usually look for in Bonnezeaux. Put these external thoughts to one side though, and focus only on what is in the glass, and there is pleasure in abundance here, in a wine which offers – as René no doubt intended – personality, originality and rarity. Drink or hold. The alcohol declared on the label is 13%. Bottle number 1219. 96/100 (28/4/25)

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