Winemaker: Jérémie Batard
Where: Maisdon sur Sèvre, Muscadet, Loire Valley, France
Size: 24 ha
Main Varieties: 95% Melon de Bourgogne - 5% Folle Blanche
Certification: Organic Certified since 2017
Quick notes: First started in 1910, 3rd generation, organic land for agroforestry and viticulture, pure and Sur Lie Muscadet, sandy loam and silaceous clay, Gabbro, Granite and Gneiss soils!
The classic Muscadet pairing of oysters and Melon de Bourgogne are aptly iconic by now, and Jérémie Batard has had generational training in growing and producing beautiful expressions of the region via his wines.
Domaine Batard Langelier is a family estate in Maisdon-sur-Sevre, in the heart of Muscadet Sèvre et Maine. The domaine has been in the family since 1910 and today Jérémy has focused on agroforestry and modern methods of organic viticultural farming in order to get the best quality grapes possible for the most sustainable agricultural outcome.
The region is home to mainly the Melon de Bourgogne grape variety, although Folle Blanche is also planted here, where the expression of the vines is greatly influenced by the silicious clay, Gabbro, Granite and Gneiss.
Muscadet is often relegated to a simple category of brisk, salty white wine, but the best grower remind us that it can be one of France’s most terroir-sensitive regions, particularly for the mainly planted Melon de Bourgogne variety, and the lesser known Folle Blanche. Here, between the Sèvre and Maine rivers and within reach of the Atlantic, the vineyards sit on varied soils of gabbro, granite, gneiss and sandy loam and siliceous clay.
The winemaking supports an honest display of terroir, with light pressing, followed by settling and fermentation in traditional cement, glass-tiled underground tanks typical of the region, which then can be played with to allow texture through lees ageing.
