FRENCH WINE

Éric Chevalier is a rising star in the Nantais of the Loire Valley.In 2005, he decided to return to his hometown of Saint-Philbert de Grandlieu, just southwest of Nantes, and ended up taking over the family domaine, Domaine de l’Aujardière, the next year. Éric sustainably farms twenty-five hectares of vines, producing wines of great character and finesse. He found his future in his family’s past.

100% Melon de Bourgogne Old vines of more than 45 years old

Pierre-Marie Luneau heads this 50-hectare estate in Le Landreau, a village in the heart of Muscadet country, where small hamlets dot a landscape of vineyards on low hills. Their estate, also known as Domaine Pierre de la Grange, has been in existence since the early 18th century when it was already planted with Melon de Bourgogne, the Muscadet appellation's single varietal. After taking over from his father Pierre in 2011, Pierre-Marie became the ninth generation to make wine in the area.

Winemaker Marc Ollivier hand harvests, uses natural yeasts, waits for the wine to finish and bottles with a very light filtration. The vineyards are in old vines (40 years and older) with a particularly good exposition on a plateau overlooking the river Sèvre. All the vineyards are from original stock: Ollivier is the only grower in the Muscadet who does not have a single clonal selection in his vineyards.The Domaine believes that the quality of a wine depends entirely on the quality of the grapes it was made with. Rémi joined the estate in 2007, and actively worked on the organic conversion of the vines. Gwénaëlle, who came in 2013, has pushed things further with a shift towards bio-dynamic viticulture.

Ollivier also produces a very-old-vine cuvée of Muscadet from a single-plot vineyard in schist, the Clos des Briords. These are among the oldest vines in his estate (they were planted in 1930) and they enjoy a particularly good exposition. Also, when most of his estate’s vines are planted on poor, shallow soil with hard granite very close to the surface, the Clos des Briords has a much deeper top soil of clay and silica over a brittle granite subsoil: this ensures excellent drainage in wet years, and better moisture retention in dry summers. Ripening is slower, and the longer hang-time before harvest allows for optimal maturity to be reached. Because of the soil and greater concentration achieved with old vines, the Clos des Briords is a more powerful wine that most Muscadets. It is very mineral and quite austere in its youth, rather than fruity and light. Over a few months, or even years, if one can wait for it, it develops much complexity in aromatics and structure.

Winemaker's Notes
The cuvee Domaine de la Pepiere are produced on a 12-hectare land. This vineyard is located on the hillside of the Maine, on a highly stony soil. The vines are 25 years old on average.

The soils are very filtering, with lots of gravel. These characteristics allow an early ripening. Grapes are harvested manually, then are carried to the wine cellar with much care. The pneumatic press is filled by gravity, and grapes are not crushed. A very slight racking enables the yeasts which are naturally present, to induce fermentation. This cuvee is left on its lees until spring, without any racking.
The 2015 vintage maintains its classic lemony, stony and briny quality. This is a great bottle of Muscadet!