About the Domaine
The history of Terre de L’Élu dates to the 1950’s when the original vines were planted by the Blot family. Brothers, Jean-Marc and Maurice Blot were the last generation of the Blot family to run the Domaine, and they continued the tradition of selling the entire production to local négociants. This all changed in January 2008 with the arrival of Thomas and Charlotte Carsin.
In the late 1990’s Thomas Carsin, an agricultural engineer by training, realized his true calling was to be a vigneron. Already well versed in viticulture and vineyard management, he began to search for opportunities that would also allow him to make his own wine. Oddly it was California that provided this opportunity, so, for a couple of years, Thomas consulted on vineyards and learned to make wine in Sonoma County. With the experience gained in California, Thomas returned to France to spend five years as a consultant in the Champagne region. This was followed two years in Provence working with some of the top domaines in the region. Throughout this time, Thomas and his wife Charlotte were looking for the right opportunity to start a domaine of their own. Like many young vignerons, they found themselves drawn to Anjou, a region rich in history, old vines and, at the time, affordable vineyards. In 2007 the Carsins came across the old Blot estate, and in January 2008 they became the new owners of Terre de L’Élu.
Taking over conventionally farmed vineyards in an unfamiliar region was a monumental task, but Thomas’s experiences prepared him. Over the past fourteen years, Terre de L’Élu has moved from strength to strength and grown in size. Today the Domaine’s 22 hectares of vines are scattered along the right bank of the Layon, starting upriver at Chaume, down through Saint-Aubin-de-Luigné and on to Ardenay and Chaudefonds-sur-Layon. Approximately 65% of the vineyards are planted with equal proportions of Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc. Smaller plantings of Gamay, Grolleau Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Grolleau Gris, and Pineau d’Aunis make up the balance. The terroir in this part of Anjou is predominately schist based with varying amount of shale, quartz, sandstone schist, and slate.
Thomas and Charlotte farm their vines organically and have been certified by ECOCERT since the 2013 vintage. All work in the vineyards is carried out in as natural a way as possible, with native cover crops encouraged, vertical tilling of the soil, and only natural treatments. There is no use of synthetic or chemical products. These efforts have brought new life to the soils allowing Thomas and Charlotte to preserve many of the Domaine’s older vines. All new plantings are made via massale selection to preserve the diversity of the sites and vine material. Certain aspects of biodynamics have been employed, but, after years of immersing themselves and their vineyards in biodynamic methods, they felt that this very ‘spiritual’ approach to viticulture was somewhat at odds with their Catholic faith.
In the cellar, each parcel and variety are hand harvested and vinified separately. The whites are direct pressed and undergo a short period of cold settling before transfer to stainless steel, neutral French oak barrels or Amphora for fermentation and ageing. Most of the red wines are fermented whole cluster and aged in neutral oak barrels of various sizes. All fermentations begin spontaneously using only the naturally occurring indigenous yeasts. The usage of sulfur is minimal and often only added before bottling.
Since first tasting the wines of Terre de L’Élu in January of 2020, we continue to be amazed that this Domaine is not better known. We have been lucky enough to taste older vintages which speak to the clear upward trajectory and brilliance in Thomas’s winemaking. We are very fortunate to know Thomas, Charlotte, and their four children, and it is an honor to import the wines of Terre de L’Élu.
