Staff Notes:
“Matured 18 months in traditional underground vats, the 2021 Clos des Bouquinardières reveals an abundance of herbs, white fruits, minerals and smoke, intertwined with a delicate, grilled character. Medium-bodied and fleshy with impressive depth at the core, it’s perfectly balanced with a mineral, crystalline texture that finishes chiseled and ethereal. It’s a seamless, complete wine of compelling purity and maturity. It's approachable now but also built to evolve gracefully over the next decade. Jérôme Bretaudeau, a well-known winemaker in Muscadet and France, began his winemaking in 2001 after working for a winegrower who was also a nurseryman. This gave him a precise vision of the quality of grafted plants and a desire to use ‘greffage à l’anglaise’ instead of the widely used omega grafting method. He cultivates his 18-hectare vineyard with cover crops and ploughing, following the principles of biodynamic farming thanks to his meeting with the late Guy Bossard, another great figure of Muscadet. He avoids using barrels to mature his wines and completes malolactic fermentation on all his cuvées. His wines are renowned for their freshness, crystalline tension, and depth. In my opinion, he is one of France’s greatest winemakers.” 92+, Yohan Castaing, Wine Advocate