Jérôme Bretaudeau of Domaine Bellevue is rocketing to cult stardom.

Already, he’s one of the Nantais’ elite producers, making several supremely silky, refined Muscadet cuvées. Cuvées that make the argument that a wine’s texture is just as important as its flavors or aromas.

We recently got a small shipment of his all-gabbro soil cuvée, ‘Clos Des Bouquinardieres.’ This is a wine that spends ten months aging on its lees.

Gabbro is sometimes called 'black granite'; it's an igneous rock formed underground by ancient volcanoes, and it imparts a distinct stony minerality to wines grown on it.

If you know the wines of Domaine Brégeon, you’ve already enjoyed Muscadet from gabbro. But where Bregeon’s wines are tense, linear, and muscular, Bellevue’s is relaxed, polished and delicate – almost Burgundian. Nonetheless, “Bouquinardieres” is unmistakably Muscadet, with a profile that's more salt and rocks than fruit that is typical of wines from gabbro.

Like any great Muscadet, Bouquinardieres is a dry, terroir-driven white that offers sensational value. It’s liquid class in a glass, and a steal for less than $30. 

Unfortunately Bretaudeau doesn’t make a lot of wine, so our quantities are quite limited here. Scoop up as much as you can, and fast!

Bellevue (Jérôme Bretaudeau), Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine Gabbro Clos Des Bouquinardières, 2018