We're very pleased to have new arrivals from Marion and Manu at Complemen'Terre: responsible for some of our favourite expressions of the mosaic-soils of Muscadet.
Following biodynamic principles, Marion and Manu farm a cluster of twelve micro-parcels totalling nine hectares, majority-planted to Melon de Bourgogne. Each wine is a parcellaire cuvée and represents a keen reflection of that parcel's individual terroir: with vinifications kept as close as possible between cuvées to better make the differences in their source explicit.
Available now are new cuvées from five different parcels and three different vintages: detailed in full below.
2022 - Croix Moriceau
"'22 was a warm, dry vintage, so we had low yields and more concentrated fruit. Croix Moriceau - picked from our most northerly parcel at the top of the hill on orthogneiss - had a long, slow fermentation, its a full, generous expression this year!"
2023 - Kerma - Melon B
"'23 fermentations were the opposite to 2022 thanks to good rain- everything had finished by September 12! (We still had some 2022 wines blipping away despite 23 finishing). The amphibolite soils for Ker Ma always yield something bright and easy drinking, the '23 has big energy!"
2022 - NoLem - Melon B
"The same story with fermentations as Croix Moriceau in a hot, dry year, but NoLem has some nicely integrated VA so it feels fresher. NoLem is south-facing, sloping towards the town on sandstone and clay, its usually a little more structured and bold. We always ferment and age NoLem in large 5-600 litre barrel, in '22 we moved it to tank for a little while, but it finished back in barrel."
2023 - 68 Ares - Folle Blanche
"68 Ares 23 is from our new parcel finally! The old parcel was always a battle. But we love Folle Blanche and wanted to make sure we still had some, so planted this on clay near the Croix Moriceau vineyard, at the top of the hill. Like all the 2023 wines, they completed alcoholic fermentation with indigenous yeasts before malo, so it feels very alive."
2020 - Le Mortier Gobin - Melon B
"This is a beautiful half hectare parcel, planted by my Grandfather 60 years ago. It's on silty soils, but deeper and richer- over sandstone and orthogneiss. It's south-facing, sloping towards the river. The wine is made very simply, the same as the others, but aged 28 months in concrete tank, and bottled with no additions."
