Visit to Domaine Les P'Tites Choses / Domaine Autre Chose

Whilst in the Loire valley for the various wine fairs that take place each February, we were lucky enough to visit Corentin Le Bolloch in the village of Grand Jaugé, Anjou. He had been on our radar since one of our importers showed us his Bibelot 2019 cuvée (the first wine he ever made) made from Cabernet Franc at the end of 2022. We were instantly hooked when the wine displayed such an intense fruit character but with a light and delicate body, so were keen to try more.

Corentin was born in the non-winemaking region of Brittany in the west of France but went to Anjou to help at a harvest back in 2015 and ended up making Faye d'Anjou his home. He trained with local winemakers and helped out others further afield in the south of the country before being offered his own plot of Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc in 2019. From these vines came his first wines Bibelot and Guadriole (a sparkling red and white blend that was only available in magnum in tiny quantities).

On our visit, it was really exciting to taste so many new cuvées made from additional vines purchased by Corentin.  Already in bottle, he has Chenin Pet Nat and more reds to come including one made from Grolleau. The wines exude a sense of honesty and humbleness which I suppose makes sense when you meet the winemaker. He is warm and welcoming without any air of pretence and was genuinely excited for us to try his creations and give our feedback. 

The name of the domaine has changed recently to Autre Chose (other thing) so look out for these new arrivals at Highbury Library over the coming months. You won't be disappointed. 

(Side note - Visible in this last picture, I noticed some words in French written on the inside of the doors to the winery. They translate as "they lived like children and made many happy")