2019 Domaine de la Garrelière Milliard d’Etoiles

WINEMAKER: François & Pascaline Plouzeau
REGION: Loire Valley, FR
VARIETAL: Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc
VITICULTURE: Certified Biodynamic

This pétillant naturel is a non-vintage blend of Cabernet Franc (40%) and Chenin Blanc (40%) made as a pet-nat (but a complex one). The reason it is non-vintage is that 20% of the juice is a still wine from the previous vintage which the Plouzeau family say is to provide the wine with maturity and wisdom!! The grapes from the current vintage were direct pressed (to ensure that the resultant wine was white and attained that distinct texture derived from red grapes with white juice) and then fermented in tank then cooled a little to slow the fermentation.

It was bottled between 18 – 20 grams per litre of residual sugar where it kept fermenting to produce the bubbles until it was quite dry. It was aged for a year and riddled by hand for a month then disgorged in February of this year. It has no added sulphites. The name translates as a “billion stars”.

François and Pascaline Plouzeau maintain an immaculate vineyard near the fascinating village of Richelieu which lies south of Tours quite close to the Chinon region. Here they implement strict biodynamic vineyard practices which are certified by Ecocert and Biodyvin. A feature of their lovely wines is the wonderful set of labels produced by local artists that reflect the naming of the wine. So the racy Cendrillon white, as the name suggests, has a Cinderella theme. Tasmanians will note a Samek-like whimsy in some of the paintings.