Muscadet Sevre et Marne Domaine de Bellevue 2017

Muscadet Sevre et Marne Domaine de Bellevue 2017, 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. The 2017 Muscadet from a his Gabbro vineyard mainly is expressive, taught and delicious.

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 learning the ins and outs of wine making. 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). 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 and for me even more characterful than those of his former mentor Jo Ladron.