The Superb 2020s from Domaine de Bellivière in Jasnières and Coteaux du Loir!

We first met Eric and Christine Nicolas of Domaine de Bellivière at one of the first "Dive Bouteille" tastings in the Breton's cellars in Bourgueil. It was an exciting moment, meeting these wonderful people and tasting wines the likes of which we had never encountered before. Their domain was young at the time, created in 1995, but was already well on it's way to organic and Biodynamic farming and precise, natural vinifications which beautifully reveal the great but mostly forgotten terroirs of Jasnières and the Coteaux du Loir.

Eric, Christine and their son Clement are constantly thinking, experimenting and refining their techniques in an effort to work more closely with nature. New plantings since 2010 are massale selection at 11,200 plants/hectare, a density the Nicolas feel limits yields and best expresses the varied terroirs. The new winery now permits all movements of juice/wine to be soley by gravity. Some parcels are now conducted in agroforestry, noting the effects on the vines and grapes. One parcel, prone to fog and development of botrytis, is now planted at 40,000 plants per hectare, and allowed to grow without intervention. Little by little, the estate has grown and now includes 20 hectares along the banks of the Loir and its tributaries - Chenin Blanc in Jasnières, Chenin Blanc, and for the reds, Pineau d'Aunis, in the Coteaux du  Loir.

The results of their work are clearly evident in these wines from the "magnificent" 2020 vintage, which show beautiful, complex fruit, perfect balance and fantastic texture and minerality. To encourage you to experience these wines, we are offering them at low net prices. Please allow 5 to 7 days before pick-up or shipping.

2020 Jasnieres "Les Rosiers"

"The Domaine's emblematic wine, Les Rosiers is a cuvée assemblage that reflects the diversity and geological variations of the soils, from degradation of the bedrock Turonian liimestone "tuffeau." It embodies the evolution of our choices in terms of viticulture but also a fierce fight for the acceptance of sugars in its taste balance - balance which is linked to the demanding quality of viticulture together with the manifestation of a lenient Nature. She seeks to arouse the curiosity of wine lovers with her styles giving rise to multiple beautiful pairings, from the most classic to the most exotic. 2020, after four years of “lean times" will remain for us a blessed year: apart from a once again very dry summer, the conditions for fruit set and development of the vegetation were magnificent."

From 10 to 40 year-old vines on soils of clay with silex over Turonian limestone, in 24 small parcels in the communes of Lhomme and Ruillé sur Loir. The plantings are very high density, in certified organic and Biodynamic farming, with the younger vines all massale selection at 11,200 vines/hectare. The wine aged for ten months on the fine lees and was bottled in November of 2021 with minimal added SO2 at 13.5% alcohol, 17 grams/liter RS ("sec tendre"). Aging potential of at least 10 to 15 years.

2020 Coteaux du Loir "Rouge Gorge"

"The "Rouge Gorge" cuvée is a tribute to this little bird that shows itself in the spring in front of our cellars, (the small European Robin) and it shows our reverance for the cepage Pineau d'Aunis. We work to obtain very low yields (maximum 25 hl/ha) in oder to have sufficient material even in difficult years. Conditiions in 2020 were magnificent.

From 10 to 50 year-old Pineau d'Aunis vines on clay/silex over Turonian limestone in 13 small parcels of high-density plantings in the Coteaux du Loir. Fermentation with pigeage in vat, malo in barrique, aging in large barrels on the lees for one year, minimal SO2 added before bottling. 14% alcohol, aging potential 10 to 15 years."

2020 Coteaux du Loir "Hommage a Louis Derré"

"The Hommage à Louis Derré cuvée was created in 2000, in memory of our neighbor and friend. From vines over 100 years old, planted just after phylloxera, the material, delicately extracted, gives this rare wine a great aromatic complexity and fine tannins with a silky texture. 2020 will remain a blessed year for us: apart from another very dry summer, the conditions were magnificent. Harvested when fully ripe, these Pineau d'Aunis centenarians offer us a dense and fine material." Vinification and elevage are identical to that of "Rouge Gorge" with a longer potential for aging.

2020  "Les P'tits Velos"

"Our sparkling wine from estate fruit is called "Les P'Tits Velos" - subtitled "En Roue Libre" when it's a Petillant Naturel, fermented in the bottle. The wine is from 10 to 30 year-old vines grown on clay with silex over limestone in Jasnierres and the Coteaux du Loir. Finishing at 12% alcohol and around 20 gr/liter of RS, the 2020 is a demi-sec that can age for 5 to 10 years." Serve as an aperitif, with a ceviche or a wide variety of desserts.