Brendan Stater West

History of the Brendan Stater-West estate

The story of Brendan Stater-West is one of a career change driven by absolute passion. Having arrived in France in 2007 to teach English in Paris, he developed a passion for wine from his second year of teaching, worked in Parisian wine bars to refine his palate, and fell under the spell of a bottle of Brézé from Domaine Guiberteau. This encounter with Romain Guiberteau's Chenin proved decisive. Brendan understood that this purity, this verticality, this calcareous tension was what he wanted to produce. He contacted Romain, persistently charmed him with his infectious American warmth, and Romain eventually agreed to take him under his wing in 2011. Brendan simultaneously enrolled in a BTS Viti-Oeno programme, completed a three-month internship at Clos Cristal to learn horse-drawn vineyard work, and became Guiberteau's indispensable right-hand man.

In 2015, Romain offered him a lease on one hectare of vines at the lieu-dit Les Chapaudaises, in Bizay, adjacent to his famous Clos de Guichaux. Brendan did not hesitate for a second. His first vintage 2015 made an immediate sensation and sold out within hours. In 2018, he considerably expanded his vineyard with the acquisition of an additional 2.30 hectares in Brézé, on the terroirs of La Ripaille and L'Ardillon, with old vines of Cabernet franc and Chenin blanc. Today the owner of approximately 3 hectares, Brendan continues to work in parallel at Guiberteau while running his own estate with the same rigour and the same quest for purity that have built his mentor's reputation.

Terroirs and Vines of the Brendan Stater-West estate

Brendan Stater-West's vineyard is spread across two complementary sectors of the Saumur appellation, a few kilometres apart. The first terroir, Les Chapaudaises in Bizay, is a one-hectare plot situated two kilometres south of the famous butte de Brézé. Its profile is characteristic of Brendan's style: a 40 cm layer of sandy-clay silt resting directly on tuffeau, the soft limestone that gives the wines their verticality, tension and mineral salinity. This terroir produces a Chenin with a "razor-sharp" profile, straight and precise. The vines began their organic conversion in 2010.

The second sector, in Brézé, comprises two exceptional lieux-dits. L'Ardillon is a 0.5-hectare plot with a south-south-west exposure, planted with Chenin blanc in the 1960s on clay silt over limestone, its 70-year-old vines producing a wine with a more austere, more horizontal and structured profile. La Ripaille hosts Cabernet franc on sandy silt over limestone, a terroir that gives the red wine a light texture and tannins of great finesse. The entire vineyard is farmed organically without formal certification at this stage.

Vinifications of the Brendan Stater-West estate

Brendan Stater-West vinifies with the utmost respect for terroir and fruit, with an approach he himself describes as "inspired by Burgundy" applied to Chenin blanc. For the generic appellation Saumur Blanc, whole clusters are pressed directly, fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel tanks for less than a month, then the wine is aged six months on fine lees in tank before bottling with light filtration. Very low doses of sulphur are added at each key stage (at pressing, after alcoholic fermentation, and at bottling) to prevent malolactic fermentation and preserve the tension and freshness of the Chenin.

For the single-vineyard cuvées, ageing in used barrels is longer: 12 months for Les Chapaudaises (followed by 6 months in tank), and 18 to 24 months for L'Ardillon in Brézé, whose old vines, according to Brendan, deserve a more patient ageing to express themselves fully. Malolactic fermentation is avoided for all white cuvées. For the Saumur rouge sourced from Cabernet franc, vinification takes place in stainless steel tanks with whole-cluster or partially destemmed grapes depending on the vintage. The wines are filtered before bottling to ensure stability and aromatic purity.

The cuvées of the Brendan Stater-West estate

Saumur Blanc : Entry-level cuvée and gateway into Brendan's world, sourced from the lower part of Les Chapaudaises in Bizay, where the vines are more vigorous and yields slightly higher. Whole-cluster pressing, indigenous yeast fermentation in stainless steel tanks, six months ageing on fine lees, light filtration before bottling. Bright nose of grapefruit, white flowers and chalk, a lively and precise palate, mineral and salivating finish with beautiful lemony bitterness. A Chenin blanc of remarkable purity and tension for its level, in direct stylistic continuity with Guiberteau.

Les Chapaudaises (Saumur Blanc) : Brendan Stater-West's flagship cuvée and his very first own label, sourced from the upper part of the Chapaudaises plot in Bizay, adjacent to Romain Guiberteau's Clos de Guichaux. Vines planted in 2006, converted to organic farming since 2010, on 40 cm of sandy-clay silt resting on tuffeau. Whole-cluster pressing, light settling, indigenous yeast fermentation in stainless steel tanks, then 12 months ageing in used barrels followed by 6 months in tank before bottling with light filtration. The wine is intentionally aged without malolactic fermentation to preserve its tension. Vertical and razor-precise profile, with aromas of green apple, lemon, chalk and white flowers, a strikingly vertical palate, very saline, with a long, mineral finish. A wine for ageing that can evolve for 8 to 10 years.

L'Ardillon, Brézé (Saumur Blanc) : Exceptional single-vineyard cuvée sourced from 0.5 hectares of Chenin blanc planted in the 1960s, with a south-south-west exposure in the commune of Brézé, in the lieu-dit L'Ardillon, situated above La Charpenterie, the most renowned plot of the Domaine du Collier. Clay silt over limestone, old vines of more than 70 years. Ageing of 18 to 24 months in used barrels, without malolactic fermentation. The wine presents a more "horizontal" and austere profile than Les Chapaudaises, with greater structure and concentration, aromas of ripe stone fruits, wet stone and fresh walnut, a broad and taut palate, and a long, complex finish. Fine Wine for ageing.

Saumur Rouge : Red cuvée sourced from Cabernet franc planted for five years in La Ripaille in Brézé, on sandy silt over limestone. This soil gives the wine a light texture and tannins of great finesse. Aromas of small dark fruits (blackcurrant, blackberry), violet and eucalyptus, a fresh and elegant palate, a mineral and delicate finish. A Cabernet franc from Saumur in an airy and precise style, of remarkable finesse and straightforwardness.