2020 Domaine de Belle-Vue Ornate
WINEMAKER: Jérôme Bretaudeau
REGION: Loire Valley, FR
VARIETAL: Merlot
VITICULTURE: Certified Organic/Biodynamic
"This is a very lithe and sophisticated Merlot made by master artisan Jerome Breataudeau. Produced far from Bordeaux - 100% de-stemmed, infusion (lasting about 12 days), indigenous yeast fermentation, then aged for 18 months in recent Burgundian barrels (4 wines' old). This is not a traditional Loire wine but it is a sensational wine. It has myriad nuance and detail - breathes up into plum, tobacco, herbs and earth all opening up after some time in the glass. Made for all the senses it is a wine to cellar for 5 years years then revel..." - Andrew Guard
Jérôme Bretaudeau is one of a small handful of serious, young winemakers devoted to the compelling terroir of Muscadet, the most western appellation in the Loire Valley. Situated along the Atlantic Coast where the Loire empties into the ocean, Muscadet enjoys a cold, maritime climate that combines with granitic soils composed of igneous rocks, silica pebbles, white and pink quartz, to create low alcohol, high acid wines with pronounced minerality and complexity.
In stark contrast to most of Muscadet, which is dominated by overcropped, industrial-production cooperatives, Domaine de Belle Vue comprises 12 hectares of organically-certified vineyards in active transition to full biodynamic viticulture. Jérôme is, moreover, innovative and experimental, crafting wines not only from the appellation’s signature Melon de Bourgogne but also from eccentric cuvées of Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Franc.