Domaine Ménard Gaborit

Pauline and Francois Menard returned from gaining experience in Burgundy to run the family vineyards in 2019. The family domaine is perched on the rocky soils at the highest point in Sevre et Maine. Converting to organics, the couple’s practices in the vineyards focus on natural patterns, using oils and biodynamic preparations to reduce copper and bring life back to the soil. In their own words, the terroir driven wines they produce ‘are a product of the generations of men and women who have left their mark and over two centuries of local history and evolution of the grape growing and winemaking processes.’ Not ‘simply’ Melon Blanc, these wines capture the parentage of this variety (Pinot Noir and Gouet Blanc) and are expressions of site driven by low yielding, older vines. We are excited to represent such quality from this Atlantic region.

Loire Valley

FRANCE

ORGANIC, ARTISANAL WINES
LOIRE VALLEY – MUSCADET

Deeply committed to respecting the environment and biodiversity, we have chosen to manage the estate using Organic Agriculture, and today, all our vines are certified. Organic Agriculture is demanding; every action, every decision influences the vine and hence the future harvests. “We reason through every action to not follow a systematic logic but rather a logic adapted to the vine’s needs.” As soon as the spring and frost risks have passed, we plow our soils (spring disking, discs, and blades). No chemical products are used in our vineyards.

Our treatments are natural to preserve biodiversity and ensure soil respect. For some years now, we have been using plant decoctions (horsetail, willow…). These preparations strengthen the vine’s immune system. The use of aromatherapy (essential oils) also helps us combat fungal diseases (mildew, powdery mildew). From the vineyard to the cellar, including the manual harvesting of some of our plots, it’s meticulous work brought by the entire team to magnify our Melon B, Chardonnay, Folle Blanche, and Gamay grapes. We aim to go much further in our commitment to respecting life, gradually moving towards biodynamics, launching various projects simultaneously.

Viticulture

From the vine to the cellar, there is only one step that we take 365 days a year! Understanding our terroirs and their diversity (plutonic magmatic rocks – gabbros and metamorphic rocks – gneiss, orthogneiss, micaschists) and sublimating them in the cuvées is the meticulous work done by the team. We guide the plant, we listen to it, and play with balances of organic matter, magnesium, nitrogen, and potassium… to help it to the maximum. The entire vineyard is cultivated in Organic Agriculture, allowing our terroir to express itself through parcel cuvées.

Winemaking

In continuation of our work in the vineyard, we vinify our parcels separately so that each cuvée reflects it. The majority of our production is vinified in the traditional glass-lined concrete vat, the typical underground vat of the Nantes vineyard. An original feature of the domaine is that we vinify in the cellar built by our great-grandfather in 1914, and the vats he dug by hands! These vats in the barrel cellar are “bioclimatic” ahead of their time: they are semi-buried, ideal for thermal inertia. Our wine has been in the same containers for 6 generations, and it is a source of pride for the Domaine Ménard-Gaborit. We also like to offer our juices a more unusual habitat with oak barrels, ceramic or concrete egg-shaped vats! We age our wines on their fermentation lees, a symbol of Muscadet. We are developing the use of native yeasts for our three communal crus, as well as on our parcel cuvées in the Inspirations range. We also consider the addition of sulfur carefully. Listening, patience, and rigor are our watchwords. We move at the pace of the vine and the wine. The goal is simple: to feel the diversity of our terroirs in each of our cuvées, over the vintages.