Gaël Saunié, head sommelier at the Premnord restaurant

“Twelve years after discovering Charlotte and Thomas’s frank and generous wines, I’m still just as impatient to taste the new vintage! I have the whole range in my cellar, but if I had to choose just one, it would be Ephata 2014 without hesitation. This bottle will remain one of the greatest wines I’ve ever had the chance to drink!”

Jean-Luc Bardes, journalist, Le Vigneron Magazine, summer 2024

“The audacity, the courage to do good and well in a common desire led the Carsin couple to the summits of Angers. Before it was a Clos, it was always the chosen one… Well, especially since Charlotte and Thomas chose to make it their Promised Land in Anjou, Saint-Aubin-de-Luigné.”

Andrew Jefford, Decanter, décembre 2023

“Sixty-year-old Chenin growing in the schist soils of St-Aubin-de-Luigné, Loire, aged in earthenware jars and steel tanks: the Ephata 2019 from Terre de l’Elu (£62 Dynamic Vines) is fragrant, subtle, uninsistent, its delicate fruits unravelling in a kind of honeyed mist. It’s zestier on the palate, full of substance and presence, simultaneously dry and not dry, enigmatic. All this – plus a haunting poem by Thomas Carsin on the back label, too. Creative wine, truly. »

Alexis Goujard, journalist, Green Guide 2025 (Revue du vin de France)

“It’s impossible to remain indifferent to the audacious wines of Terre de l’Élu (formerly Clos de l’Élu before the abandonment of the AOP Anjou in 2019). Some classic palates are, moreover, sometimes disconcerted by them. But what does it matter. Because since their installation in 2008 in Saint-Aubin-de-Luigné, Charlotte and Thomas Carsin have revealed themselves to be among the most creative winemakers of Anjou noir, and of the entire Loire Valley. More than 25 hectares of vines, variations in schist soils, seven grape varieties… From this diversity of elements that would frighten any new winemaker, the couple has made a strength to cultivate the identities of singular vintages of this terroir resulting from the Armorican Massif. »

Alain Milliat, Cuisine et vin de France, February 2024

« Clos de l’Élu, Espérance 2021, €28. I discovered this wine thanks to a friend a few years ago and I immediately liked the commitment of the winemaking couple who produce this Pineau d’Aunis or Chenin Noir, in the Loire, organically and as naturally as possible. I also wanted to “be smart” by opting for a red wine, but I bet that these very fine tannins and peppery notes could work with fish flesh and caviar »