Maison Brûlées
Touraine, FR
Taken over by Paul and Corinne in 2013, Les Maisons Brûlées sits in the town of Pouillé, on the southern bank of the Cher Valley. There, the Gillets farm eight hectares of vines planted to Sauvignon Blanc, Pineau d’Aunis, Gamay, Pinot Noir, Menu Pineau, Chardonnay, Cot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon. The parcels surrounding the house lie on flint and clay soils and have been farmed organically, and more recently biodynamically, for nearly thirty years. The Augé family, who tended the land before Paul and Corinne, set a quiet but serious precedent. Today, all work in the vineyard is done by hand and hoof, with their horse, Dancer, sharing in the labor.
Paul and Corinne are no strangers to the rhythms of the natural world. Before Les Maisons Brûlées, they owned an épicerie fine in their hometown of Mulhouse, stocking local cheeses, wines, and charcuterie, and serving oysters to the neighborhood. From 2007 to 2011, the Gillets moved to Buenos Aires, where they opened a restaurant centered on local Argentine ingredients. In a country famous for beef, they sought to offer something different, simple meals attuned to a french sensibility.
They left Argentina in 2011 when Paul felt the pull to build a life rooted in place, that is, a house where they could grow vegetables and make wine. In 2012, he began working with Michel Augé, the longtime steward of Les Maisons Brûlées. Shortly after, Paul returned to his home region of Alsace for an internship with Bruno Schueller. The following year, as Augé prepared to retire, he offered Paul the opportunity to take over the domaine. And so began the Gillets’ life at Les Maisons Brûlées.
I was lucky enough to spend a few days there during harvest. What struck me most was how, despite being firmly in the Loire, the quiet masculinity of their Alsatian roots still shaped daily life. Every meal began with charcuterie and followed with pork dish in one form or another. One evening, Paul made for me a Porkchop in his cast iron and we drank 2014 Poussière de Lune, a slightly oxidative wine with striking acidity.
Later, we opened what Corinne’s father calls his everyday wine: R2L’O, a blend of Pineau d’Aunis, Pinot Noir, and Gamay, everything one hopes for from the Loire, without pretense. I will never forget speaking of the films of François Truffaut with Corrine’s Father and as he took a sip of his glass of R2L’O he whispered through his lips, “C’est Le Bonheur” (It’s Happiness).