The Domaine de l’Alliance was founded in 2005 as the result of an unusual career change: Daniel Alibrand, a former fisherman from Les Sables-d’Olonne in the Vendée region, left the sea to embark on a career in viticulture, aided by his wife Valérie, who inherited a few hectares in her native region of Fargues, in the heart of the Sauternes appellation. Without taking over any existing estate, the couple built their vineyard plot by plot—today covering 6.5 to 8 hectares, between the Langon and Fargues sectors, planted with old vines of Sémillon (dominant at 80–85%), Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Gris, and Muscadelle, some of which are over 40 years old.
The terroir consists of a mosaic of compact, clay-rich gravel, gravel mixed with iron-rich clay, and decomposed limestone. From the very beginning, the estate adopted organic farming and later biodynamic practices—soils protected by infusions of regional plants, with minimal intervention to allow the terroir to express itself. A rarity in the Sauternes region: chaptalization is completely ruled out here. When the grapes are not sufficiently affected by noble rot, the estate simply does not produce a sweet wine—only a dry wine—as was the case in 2012, 2017, and 2018.
Esquisse is vinified in four-wine barrels with fermentation using indigenous yeasts, followed by six months of aging that preserves the purity of the fruit without imparting an oaky character to the wine. The result: a full-bodied and easy-drinking Sauternes, endowed with beautiful vitality, that rivals many grands crus.
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