La Grange Tiphaine

La Grange Tiphaine is the 17 hectare domaine of Damien and Coralie Delecheneau in the Loire Valley. Damien and Coralie both studied oenology and viticulture in Bordeaux, then headed overseas to expand their knowledge through work with wineries in California and South Africa. They returned to France in 2002 to take over Damiens familial domaine in Amboise. Damien is the fifth generation to farm this land, but he and Coralie set out with an entirely different aim. They embarked on a mission to convert to organic production, then biodynamic, and expanded westward by adding parcels in Montlouis-Sur-Loire. When Coralie joined the domaine full-time in 2008 the couple began to realise their vision for a top-quality, handmade wines from this often underrated region. Two decades later, they create nearly a dozen award-winning wines that evoke the terroir in its purest sense.

They embrace a minimalist approach in the vineyard and the winery, insisting on minimal additives and interventions - preferring to let the terroir speak for itself. They also focus on sustainable practices, have experimented with horses over tractors, recycle water and minimise packing waste.

The couple tend vines in three different appellations and produce an average of 85,000 bottles a year, but each cuvee has a personality - a soul - created and carefully nourished by their work. They both delight in and share the work of nearly all aspects of the production, and their unified vision is clear across their large range. Both Coralie and Damien are musicians, and their love of music is often expressed in their wines, from naming and labels to concerts they hold in their ageing cellar.

The domaine produces elegant, precise wines from six grapes: whites from Chenin and Sauvignon Blanc, and four reds: Cot (Malbec), Cabernet Franc, Gamay, and a rare native variety Grolleau. Whether sparkling, dry, semi-sweet or sweet, all the wines carry the domaines signature of quality, innovation and pure varietal expression.