Twin Songs of the Loire
On the easternmost edge of Muscadet, where the Loire meets the Atlantic, Matthieu L'Hotelier and Chloélie Cholot-Louis tend 6 hectares of old vines across scattered parcels near Montrelais. Their wines — Chenin, Melon de Bourgogne, Gamay, Grolleau — are pressed slowly for texture, fermented and aged in fiberglass tanks, and identified each year by a new black-and-white photograph rather than a fixed cuvée name. This is Muscadet with an Anjou soul: precise, mineral, and quietly radical.
From a Shed to a 17th-Century Farm
Matthieu L'Hotelier began his life as a wine producer in 2012, working out of what can best be described as a shed. He had come to the Loire to buy wine for a concert and was captivated by the river — "happened by the Loire," as the story goes. He wanted to be as close to the ocean as possible, and the coteau of Champs Jumeaux, which overlooks Montrelais and the river, became his anchor [^43^][^45^].
The name "Les Chants Jumeaux" (Twin Songs) comes from the first parcel of Chenin he acquired — a twin plot on the hillside, with one parcel belonging to him and the other to Marie de la Paonnerie. The name is a play on words: "chants" (songs) replacing "champs" (fields), reflecting the musical and artistic sensibility that runs through everything Matthieu does [^45^].
In 2017, Chloélie Cholot-Louis arrived. She had come to the Loire for a concert on the riverbank — to do the lighting — and returned for the harvest, then the cellar, and then never left. By 2020, she had joined the project fully. In 2022, the couple moved into La Cour, a 17th-century farm outside Montrelais, perfectly situated in the middle of their scattered parcels. It was the last place in the village where it was still possible to establish a winery [^43^][^45^].
Between Les Champs Jumeaux and the Loire flows Le Bray, a small stream. Near it stands La Cour — their farm, their cellar, their home. The estate now encompasses several small parcels between Saint-Herblon and Ingrandes, totalling roughly 6 hectares of Melon de Bourgogne, Gamay, Grolleau, Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc, and Pineau d'Aunis [^45^].
"He came to buy wine for a concert and was introduced to it — he who wanted to settle as close to the ocean as possible was captivated by the Loire."
— Vins Naturels
Old Vines, New Plantings
The vineyards of Les Chants Jumeaux are dominated by old vines — an average age of 70 years across the estate. These are not young, vigorous plantings; they are gnarled, low-yielding vines that produce grapes of unusual concentration and character. Matthieu and Chloélie tend them with obsessive care, using no chemical aids and relying instead on plant-based treatments and a philosophy of minimal interference [^43^][^45^].
The couple is also busy planting new vines to gradually expand their production. At La Cour, they discovered ancient vineyard lands that had disappeared in the last century — terres à vignes, as they are known. To finance the purchase of the farm and the replanting, they launched a négociant project called Le Bray, sourcing Melon de Bourgogne from nearby growers who share their organic philosophy. The name comes from the stream that runs between their parcels [^45^].
The terroir here is unique: the easternmost part of Muscadet, as close to Anjou as possible. The wines reflect this geographical ambiguity — they have the saline freshness of Muscadet but the structure and depth more commonly associated with Anjou Chenin. The soils are varied, the climate moderated by the proximity of the Loire and the Atlantic, and the result is wines of striking minerality and tension [^43^].
Montrelais, Loire-Atlantique. Easternmost Muscadet, bordering Anjou. Loire river influence, Atlantic proximity. Varied soils across scattered parcels. A unique microclimate that bridges two appellations.
Average vine age: 70 years. Varieties: Gamay, Grolleau, Pineau d'Aunis, Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc, Melon de Bourgogne. Old vines for concentration; new plantings for future expansion. Organic, no chemicals.
Completely without chemical aids. Plant-based mixtures for vine treatments. Minimal interference, letting nature take its course. Manual work across scattered parcels. Organic certification.
~6 hectares across several small parcels between Saint-Herblon and Ingrandes. La Cour farm sits in the middle, perfectly positioned. Le Bray stream flows nearby. Ancient vineyard lands being replanted.
Slow Pressing, Fiberglass, Patience
In the cellar, Matthieu works patiently and thoughtfully. The grapes are pressed slowly on a Vaslin press — a 12-hour process that extracts maximum texture and phenolic complexity without the harshness of aggressive extraction. There is no débourbage; the wines ferment with their natural solids, adding depth and mouthfeel [^45^].
Fermentation and ageing take place in fiberglass tanks — a deliberate choice that allows micro-oxygenation without the flavour influence of oak or the reductive tightness of stainless steel. The wines finish their fermentation in spring, after the winter cold has slowed and then revived the native yeasts. Soutirage (racking) is gentle, and bottling is done by hand with a small group of friends [^43^][^45^].
The result is wines of remarkable precision and underlying minerality. Despite the hands-off approach, there is great attention to detail in every stage — from the slow pressing to the spring fermentation to the careful bottling. These are not rustic natural wines; they are refined, clean, and deeply expressive of their specific place on the Loire [^43^].
The Photo Labels
Les Chants Jumeaux rejects fixed cuvée names. Instead, each wine is identified by a black-and-white photograph that changes every year on every bottling. This allows Matthieu and Chloélie complete freedom of assemblage — they can blend whatever the vintage offers without being constrained by pre-existing labels or market expectations. The image becomes the name, and the name is always new.
Muscadet with an Anjou Soul
The wines of Les Chants Jumeaux occupy a fascinating liminal space in the Loire Valley. Technically they are Muscadet — made from Melon de Bourgogne, grown in the Pays Nantais, close to the Atlantic. But stylistically, they echo Anjou: the structure, the depth, the Chenin-like seriousness that comes from old vines and patient cellar work [^43^].
This is not accidental. Matthieu and Chloélie's location — the easternmost edge of Muscadet, almost in Anjou — means their wines naturally bridge two worlds. The saline, coastal freshness of Muscadet is present, but so is the mineral tension and ageing potential of Anjou Chenin. The result is whites that can age beautifully, reds of unusual freshness, and a sparkling wine that captures the best of both regions [^38^][^43^].
Their approach to blending reinforces this hybrid identity. Without fixed cuvée names, they are free to assemble wines that reflect each vintage's specific character — sometimes more Atlantic, sometimes more Angevin, always true to the grapes and the place. It is a model of flexibility that few traditional estates can match, and it has earned them a devoted following among natural wine drinkers who value both purity and surprise [^45^].
"This is Muscadet with a clearly different profile — more reminiscent of Chenin from Anjou."
— Lieu-Dit
The Chants Range
All wines are made from organically farmed estate fruit or sourced through the Le Bray négociant project, hand-harvested, slowly pressed, spontaneously fermented in fiberglass, and bottled with minimal intervention. There are no fixed cuvée names — each wine is identified by a unique black-and-white photograph that changes annually, allowing complete freedom of assemblage and vintage expression [^43^][^45^].