Description
Region: Monnières-Saint-Fiacre, Muscadet Sèvre et Maine AOP, Loire Valley, France
Producer: Domaine de la Combe (Pierre-Henri Gadais) Vintage: 2019
Grape: Melon de Bourgogne
Type: White Wine
Size: 75CL
Notes:
Structured with buttery with yeast notes, dried apricot sweetness, a saline minerality and long finish. The wine is complex and unusually for Muscadet will age well.
Terroir :
In the village of Saint-Fiacre sur maine, in the craddle of the Muscadet area between the 2 rivers of « Sèvre » and « Maine », at the lieux dit « La Pétière ».
The plots where this wine is produced is called « Vigne de l’astrée », a plot of 1 hectare, which is the meeting point of 2 kind of soil. The Gneiss à 2 micas represent 70% of of it’s terroir, also the plot has 30% of mica shiste.
The cru Monnières-Saint-Fiacre can be compare to a village appelation of Beaujolais or burgundy. It’s a new appellation with restrective rules, such as lower yield allowed compare to a regular Muscadet, also the plot as to be selected in accordance of depth of hearth, exposure, sensistivity with frost, porcentage of slope, etc… It represent the best terroir of the Muscadet area.
Winemaking :
Harvested at the best maturity, by hand, with a very small yield of 23hl/ha. The yeald allowed for the production of this appellation is 45hl/ha (same as a grand cru from burgundy). After picking, the grappes are directly pressed and the juice fall by gravity in our subterrean tanks. No sulfites will be added under the
press to make sure the wild yeast are not killed. Those ambiant yeast of the terroir will process the fermentation in used and large oak barrel (600 liters) during 3 weeks. A hint of sulfite will be added
at the end of the winemaking process to avoid any malo lactique fermentation happen.
Aging :
I choose to age my “Vigne de l’Astrée” for 26 months on its winemaking lies. The minimum required by the appelation is 24 months. No interventions till the bottling, however a close follow up is required with regular tasting to make sure the quality last.