Morantin, Noella

After abandoning a career in advertising for a life in wine, Noella Morantin staged with Agnes and Rene Mosse in Anjou. This led to a job as cellar master at Domaine Bois Lucas, an estate in the Touraine adjacent to the Clos Roche Blanche owned by Junko Arai, a Japanese importer. In 2009, Noella began leasing 8.5 hectare of vineyards (with the goal of eventually purchasing them) from Didier Barrouillet and Catherine Roussell, owners of Clos Roche Blanche. These extraordinarily well-tended vineyards are gems in the natural wine pantheon as they have been organic (under CRB) for years.

Noella now rents space at Clos Roche Blanche and cellars her wines at a nearby farm. Noella’s goal is to work as naturally as possible, favoring natural yeasts, long macerations and extended fermentations as well as minimal use of sulphur.