Julien Courtois, following in his father Claude's footsteps, created his own vineyard, Le Clos de la Bruyère, in 1998. Some would say that the Courtois family have now achieved cult Loire status globally with the wines in huge demand globally. Based in Soings en Sologne, the 4.5-hectare domain is run by Julien and his partner, Heidi. They work with seven varieties of grapes, including an ungrafted Menu Pineau, planted in 1978. Both Julien and his father have always kept to the principles of making wines from low- yield vineyards, allowing them to reach the optimum concentration, and working on the basis of natural cycles. No chemicals or pesticides. Everything is done in respect of the environment.