Bodet-Herold is the micro-négociant crémant project of Étienne Bodet (winemaker at Clos Rougeard) and his wife Kim Herold, launched in 2022 to showcase the Loire Valley’s potential for world-class sparkling wine. Étienne’s early training in Champagne deeply informs the approach here: whole-cluster pressing, ambient yeast fermentation, and extended lees aging. Les Ternay is their latest release and a striking debut: deeply flavored and unapologetically wild, with pronounced autolytic character and Loire Chenin precision.  

Sourced from organically farmed vineyards in Ternay, this 100% chenin blanc comes from classic Saumurois terroir—chalky limestone with silty-clay topsoil. Fermented with native yeast and aged on lees for nearly two years, it’s finished brut nature, with no dosage and minimal intervention throughout. 

In the glass, Les Ternay is the fullest and most autolytic of the Bodet-Herold lineup, showing broad, spicy, and layered in the glass. The nose bursts with gingerbread, biscuit, red apple, and pineapple. Medium-plus in body with persistent but fine mousse, it sails into a long, exotic finish.  

This is a thrilling debut from a winemaker to watch, and a rare opportunity to experience his vision of these wines from the very beginning.