Muscadet Sevre et Marne Domaine de Bellevue 2017/18

Muscadet Sevre et Marne Domaine de Bellevue, organic wine, natural wine, wild yeast, stunning purity to this fresh natural Muscadet. 2016 and 2017 were very challenging vintages for Jerome Bretaudeau as he saw both vintages disappear in front of him due to hard frosts and hail storms, losing approx 80% of his fruit each year. However the end of the season was much more kind than the start yielded a small amount of stunning quality grapes. The result in bottle is outstanding and his soft approach in the cellar has given birth to beautiful wines. His Muscadets are taught and minerally, with apples and pears throughout. A delicious bottle of wine with bags more character than many other examples.

Jérôme Bretaudeau's story is one of passion for wine and only wine. He set up the 9 hectare Domaine in 2005 after working for over 15 years at other estates and converted to organic production in 2009. The soils at Domaine de Bellevue are what give it the capability to make hand crafted terroir wines which truly vary from soil to soil. They are are made up pockets of clay interspersed with silica pebbles, white and pink quartz and also some volcanic rocks allowing strong minerality and complexity for the wines. The vines are old and various with unusual grape varieties for the Muscadet area (Chardonnay, Gamay, Merlot, Pinot Gris and others). He uses a combination of large clay eggs and used barrels to ferment and mature his wines. Internships with Jo Landon and Guy Bossard (two giants of the area) gave him the taste for natural wine making and thus since 2009 he has been certified organic. The wines are elegant, precise characterful.