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What I love about this wine is that it takes a relatively humble terroir (Muscadet, birthplace of every oyster bar's cheap house white) and turns it into something inexplicably luxurious.
The winemaker, Jean-Baptiste Hardy, returned to his family's domaine in the heart of Muscadet after stints making wine at Domaine Roulot and Bodegas Chacra. He set about reviving old vines planted on gabbro, a mineral-laden volcanic rock that's found where ancient magma cooled underground along ocean ridges.
The 'Fief de Chaintre' is made from Hardy's best raw material -- 65 year-old, organic massale selection Melon de Bourgogne vines hailing from gabbro subsoils. More than a few people have mentioned to me that it tastes a lot like great white Burgundy. To me, it's more like Aube Champagne once all the bubbles have faded. Dense, rich, and a little yeasty, with tons of chalky, salty minerality to support all that weight. At $51, it's certainly not cheap, but it still feels like finding a Moncler down jacket on the closeout rack.
- Jeff
100% Melon de Bourgogne from old massale selections, planted in 1960. Northern exposure with loam/silt soil with gabbro subsoil. Vinified for 12 months on less with own yeast in 450L barrels and concrete diamond vats. Afterwards blended in glassed underground vats for 6 months.
***
On a recent visit, we found Muscadet - in the far western Loire Valley - in the midst of a renaissance. An emergence of talented young vignerons are inheriting small plots from their family’s historic estates and applying a more artisanal approach to farming and a healthy curiosity in the cellar.
Enter Jean-Baptiste Hardy, who in 2018, returned to his family’s estate in Mouzillon on the banks of the Sanguèze river, to revive some of his family’s best parcels over diverse terroirs.
After traveling the world with formative work experiences at a few domaines dear to our heart (including Bodegas Chacra & Domaine Roulot), he returned with a better understanding of his hometown’s potential. Mouzillon, at the heart of the Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, one finds soils composed of gabbro (volcanic rocks) and silica-clay, where Jean-Baptiste manages to coax out wines of texture and freshness that we loved immediately, reminiscent of great Chablis. The potential is here and we’re betting this young winemaker will become one of the appellation's stars.
- Grand Cru Selections
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