Ephemere Cabernet Franc Domaine de Bellevue 2017

Ephemere Cabernet Franc Domaine de Bellevue 2017 organic wine, 100% Cabernet Franc, spicy, elegant and super balanced Loire red. The fruit is from the Muscadet area of the Loire and the wine is not picked early so has body and lush red and dark fruits, a note of acerbic Loire Cab Franc character that you often find in Saumur and the central Loire but it is only subtle. The wine has tension and style, absolutely superb. The name comes from the French word meaning ‘short-lived’ or ‘fleeting’ – as is the nature of a bottle of wine: they never last long enough!

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.