2009 Domaine de Belle Vue Muscadet Granit

I’m a fan of Muscadet….can there be anything better than belting back a few bottles with some good friends and a couple of dozen oysters…..I think not!

Jerome Bretaudeau worked at various wineries before setting up his own domaine in 2005……Domaine de Belle Vue covers 8ha in the Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine appellation over two separate plots….one on the rich, clay soils…..we’ve had a look at the delicious 2009 Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine from this vineyard in a previous tasting note….. here.

And the other from vines planted in the 1920′s on leaner, more granitic soils……errrrr yeah….hence the name. It’s finer boned, tightly wound like the skin of a snare drum but surprisingly rich at the same time…..quite a fascinating little wine and one that I enjoyed very much.

The yields are very low here, around 35 hL/ha where other producers belt out up to 90 hL/ha…..and the Melon de Bourgogne is harvested by hand which is a rarity in the region…..two boxes ticked for a start. Jerome actually grows 10 different varietals on his plot of land and does something pretty funky with the fruit…..he harvests by age of vine per soil type, this way he gets are great handle on how vine age contributes to each of his terroirs….and of course he uses natural yeasts.

The Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine AOC lies just to the South & East of the city of Nantes in the Loire Valley….we’re only about 25kms from where the Loire River meets the Atlantic here and the appellation covers some 8000 hectares.

There are four appellations in total….Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine sprang into being in 1936 along with the Muscadet Coteaux de Loire sub-appellation(467 ha) with the generic Muscadet appellation added the following year in 1937……the new kid on the block is the Muscadet de Cotes de Grands Lieu, added in 1994…..in total there are some 13,000 ha under vine.

Pale straw in hue showing a quite rich aromatic profile. There’s plenty of citrus fruit appeal…..pithy lemon with hints of orange rind, sea spray, oyster shell, stone and soft spice with wafts of leesy creamy notes and lemon curd.

There’s surprising weight in the mouth….still showing that richness but there’s an energy to the minerally acid line that adds a tautness to the wines overall structure. Again, flavours of pithy citrus fruits is predominant….lemon, orange and grapefruit with just a hint of custard apple. Those hints of leesy creaminess are also still there with lemon curd dotted with soft spice, marzipan and nougat with plenty of stony minerality to keep the grumpiest of rock-heads happy.

The exit from the palate is sapid and has plenty of stony zing…..everything in balance, great tension between the acid and the fruit and a rich, mouthfilling swish of citrus on the lingering finish.

Price: $60 – Closure: Cork – Alcohol: 12% – Source: Cellar – Importer: Andrew Guard Wine Imports

Sleek and cool as fuck!