Jérôme Bretaudeau
Jérôme Bretaudeau of Domaine de Bellevue unquestionably ranks among the winemakers who truly matter in the Muscadet. A vigneron with sixteen hectares under his care, spread over the communes of Gétigné, Cugand, Clisson, Gorges and Vallet, this larger-than-life character, born with the ‘75 vintage, has always had one foot in the vines. After starting his career as a vineyard manager for a conventional estate in the early 1990s, he took over two hectares in Gétigné in 2001, expanded to six hectares in 2005, converted to organic viticulture in 2009, and finally went biodynamic in 2016. Endlessly curious and deeply passionate in his work, he constantly experiments with new approaches to vinification: ovoid vats, amphorae... As for the result in bottle? Simply incredible: his wines are both generous and precise, with backbone and great purity. Enough to restore this once noble appellation’s good name! An estate to (re)discover ASAP!