Julien Rousselot

Anjou natural wine, born behind a wine bar counter

Before Julien Rousselot ever tended a vine, he was pouring wine. His path started in socio-cultural work — years spent as an animator in the Accueil Paysan network — before he opened a wine bar in the spirit of an old guinguette on the Île de Souzay, near Saumur. Years of pouring other people’s bottles did what these things tend to do: the offer of some old vines, and a long-held dream of making natural wine in Anjou, pulled him across the counter. In 2018 he installed himself as a vigneron and named the domaine Des Jus et du Lien — the juices and the bond.

In the vineyard

The domaine sits in the heart of the Coteaux du Layon, in and around Rablay-sur-Layon and Beaulieu-sur-Layon. Around three hectares are spread across four plots, worked by hand, with the schist and sandstone patchwork typical of the middle Layon under the vines. The planting reads like a natural-wine Anjou dream: Chenin Blanc above all, then Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grolleau Noir, Grolleau Gris and Gamay.

In the cellar

Everything is done naturally: no chemicals in the vines, no additives, corrections or oenological aids in the cellar, spontaneous fermentations on wild yeasts, and at most a tiny dose of sulphur at bottling — never more than around 10 mg/l total. Julien is also part of En Joue Connection, the Loire collective that unites a generation of low-intervention growers pushing Anjou and Saumur in the same direction.

The wines

Chenin is the star of the range — Julien bottles it in several guises, from taut dry still whites to pét-nats, using different vessels and lengths of élevage to draw out different faces of the grape. Alongside these sit a bright, snappy Grolleau, a fresh Cabernet Franc, a Cabernet Sauvignon (Papi Jean) and small runs of sparkling wines that shift with the vintage. Cuvée names like Sur Le Pouce and Haute Voltige hint at the mood: wines to drink standing up, wines that take a leap. Across the range, the style is transparent, convivial and expressive — Anjou natural wine that can be contemplated slowly or drunk straight from the bottle.