Domaine du Bel Air's Clos Nouveau: 2007 to 2020

No.25 | Producer Feature

When Pierre Gauthier was a young boy growing up in the village of Benais, he used to walk by the three meter tall limestone walls of the historic Clos Nouveau everyday on his way to school. When he began his journey as a vigneron, the older vignerons in the village spoke of the great terroirs of Benais - Grand Mont, Clos Sénéchal, Beauvais… but they always said that the greatest of the great wines was made from the grape vines enclosed by those very walls. It was always Pierre’s dream to one day become the caretaker of this very special clos.

Located in the heart of commune of Benais, the viticultural history of Clos Nouveau can be traced back to the 13th century, when the vineyard was once part of the holdings of the Château de Benais. The walls of the clos were built in the 1600s by the du Bellay family, descendants of the famed French poet Joachim du Bellay, and was planted with a mix of vegetables, fruit trees and vines. Following the French Revolution, the vineyard was sold to a w…