Jean-François Mérieau: A Vow Carved Into the Stone of Touraine

If you’ve ever wondered about this elusive thing we call the soul of wine, the part no lab test can measure, then make your way to Touraine and step inside the cellar of Jean-François Mérieau.

This is a story written long before us. The cellar is carved deep into the rock, perched above the Cher River, and I swear the air still carries the scent of centuries. The walls are rough, scarred with graffiti left by American soldiers in the First World War: a reminder that this land has stood firm through upheaval after upheaval. Today, it’s where Jean-François, the fourth generation, works tirelessly.

Những hàng nho xanh mướt của Domaine Mérieau trải dài ở thung lũng Loire, vùng Touraine. Ảnh sưu tầm

Touraine Before It Got “Polished”

Jean-François is no armchair winemaker. He’s out in the vines, restless, always searching for new ways to honor grapes that were here long before we ever heard of “Parker points.” That’s why his collection excites me: Sauvignon that cuts sharp without a trace of flab, Chenin that hums with fullness and life, rustic Gamay and sturdy Côt, and above all, those venerable old vines of Pineau d’Aunis, carrying themselves with dignity.

Chân dung Jean-François Mérieau, nhà sản xuất rượu vang, đứng giữa vườn nho tại Domaine Mérieau, Touraine. Ảnh sưu tầm

I like how importer Jon-David Headrick puts it: “friendly at the table and on the wallet.” It sounds plain, but it’s the highest compliment. It reminds us that good wine belongs at everyday tables, not locked away like a luxury item to be admired from a distance.

Even Wine Doctor, never one for wasted words, confessed that Jean-François’ lineup “oozed Ligérian class.” And then he admitted to buying extra bottles of Cent Visages 2018 for his own cellar. A purchase says more than a paragraph of praise.

The Truth Lies in the Roots

At Domaine Mérieau, you won’t hear talk about percentages of new oak or the latest designer yeast. Here, vines are worked by hand instead of herbicides. Grapes are harvested by hand. Fermentation happens naturally. Three generations still show up in the winery, not for magazine photo spreads, but because that’s simply how this family has always done it, for over a century. That’s honesty.

And when you pour a bottle of Mérieau, whether white, red, or sparkling, you taste that startling rightness. They’re not trying to impress you. They’re just there, part of the meal, part of the conversation, part of the warmth between friends.

Glouglou’s Note: 

These are the bottles we search for, the ones that carry the smell of soil, of stone, of memory unfiltered. Like Wine Doctor, you might want to tuck away a few for yourself. Life is already too full of things that have been “polished up.”

Macy Nguyen

Curious cork popper!