Brendan Stater-West’s wine epiphany came in the form of a bottle of 2008 Domaine Guiberteau Brézé, a wine of such intensity and minerality it would literally change the course of his life. A native of the Pacific Northwest, Stater-West arrived in Paris in 2007 with a French degree and initially earned his crust teaching English. Like many before him, he would soon find himself reeled into France’s seductive food and wine culture and, aged 21, he changed path, scoring a job at Spring, a small wine store in the 1st arrondissement. As he began travelling and tasting to tune his palate, Brendan became drawn to the purity and electricity of Chenin Blanc grown on limestone: the Loire Valley became his stomping ground.

Back to that 2008 Brézé. As Brendan tells the story, the very next day after tasting he tracked down Romain Guiberteau’s number and called him asking for a job. Initially rebuffed, Stater-West was not going to take no for an answer and continued, in his words, to “harass” Guiberteau for a month or two, until finally Romain gave in and accepted to take him under his wing.

Arriving in the summer of 2012, Stater-West quickly established himself as Romain Guiberteau’s right arm. As we visited the cellars from 2013 onwards, it became increasingly apparent that the fast-learning apprentice was becoming an indispensable cog in the day-to-day running of the Domaine. Indeed, during one of these visits, Romain Guiberteau told us that without Stater-West’s assistance, the wines would not be at the level they are today. As it turned out, he would soon be able to return the favour.

Right from the start, Stater-West had been clear that his long-term goal was to make his own wines under his own label, and the opportunity arose sooner than expected. In early 2015 Guiberteau liberated his family’s vines in the terroir of Les Chapaudaises from the local co-op and offered to lease Stater-West one hectare of Chenin Blanc (while keeping the Cabernet Franc vines for his own Domaine).

It’s no surprise that similarities can be found between the wines of Guiberteau and Brendan Stater-West and yet, commendably, Brendan’s wines have a personality all of their own.

Domaine Brendan Stater-West got off to a flying start, releasing a 2015 that sold out in no time. But the young winemaker’s progress was curtailed when Les Chapaudaises was severely frosted in 2016 and 2017, leaving next to no wine to work with. As Brendan tells it, he had as good as given up on this dream before, by chance, Romain Guiberteau was offered the vineyards from an old winegrowing family without an heir to take over. Judging he already had enough on his plate, Romain recommended they talk instead to his ambitious chef de culture.

The purchase (in 2018) gave Brendan Stater-West a fully-fledged Saumur Domaine replete with an old wine cellar in nearby Chacé, within the appellation Saumur-Champigny. In addition to Les Chapaudaises, the key sites are old-vine parcels in Brézé: Cabernet Franc in La Ripaille (where he has now also planted Chenin Blanc); and Chenin in the lieu-dit of L’Ardillon. In total, he is now working with 3.5 hectares of vines.

In the vines, Stater-West follows the teachings of ‘soil guy’, Yves Hérody, to improve the health and structure of his soils through the introduction of fresh organic fertilizer and cover crops that capture nitrogen and put it back into the soil (like fava bean, rye, clover and mustard). The plants are tilled into the soil during the winter along with the composted manure.

It’s no surprise that similarities can be found between the wines of Guiberteau and Brendan Stater-West and yet, commendably, Brendan’s wines have a personality all of their own. Stater-West’s second love is red Burgundy, and in contrast with his mentor’s Cabernet Franc, he works with a shorter time on skins and only vinifies free-run juices, looking for a lighter, finer palate. With Chenin Blanc, Brendan uses less lees than Guiberteau, and racks tighter after pressing. Without sacrificing the limestone crackle from the tuffeau bedrock, the results are slightly less austere: you could say a Stater-West Chenin is rounder and more Burgundian in feel than a Guiberteau Chenin.

At some point in the future, Brendan will fly the Guiberteau coop with all the right ingredients to become a terrific vigneron in his own right: a selection of great terroirs; superb work ethic; and, in Roman Guiberteau, the ear of one of the most celebrated vignerons in the Loire Valley. And man, can he make a mean Saumur.