Domaine Batard Langelier is a family estate that spans several generations: since 2017, I’ve been representing the 3rd generation to tend our family vineyards. Located in Maisdon sur Sèvre, 30 minutes south-east of Nantes, the estate extends over 20 hectares on a gentle slope in the meeting point of our two famous rivers: the SèvreNantaise and the Maine. Just a short 50km from the Atlantic Ocean as the crow flies, this geography gives the vineyard the benefit of oceanic influences. My vineyard plots, often older, flourish on a variety of metamorphic subsoils of Granite, Gneiss and Gabbro. At the Domaine, we strive to bring out the full richness and potential of the Melon de Bourgogne, a grape variety emblematic of the Nantes vineyards and adapted over centuries to the region’s soils. We cultivate our grapes according to organic farming practices. The wines we produce are part of the Muscadet Sèvre et Maine appellation. We also make two crus Muscadets, Château Thébaud and Monnières Saint Fiacre.
Philosophy
A linked history The story of the estate is a rich one of close ties. Human bonds: those of the family, of the people of the village, of the grape harvesters, of the generations who have worked for the vines, but also the bonds that nature weaves from the roots to the grapes, to the elements, to the seasons.
Denis et Pascal A special bond – that of my father Pascal and his father – my grandfather Denis, from whom he learned to caress the vines with his eyes, to scan the horizon, to learn the gestures, patience, hard work and vinification. Pascal has inscribed his Muscadet, as he likes it, in the purest tradition of the Nantes vineyards. Convinced that market trends are dooming wines to a standardization of taste and the death of terroirs, but also sensitive to the growing fragility of biodiversity, it was quite naturally and with conviction that he steered his business towards integrated production, abandoning chemical fertilizers in 1995.
Pascal and Jérémie: from father to son A few years spent working with my father instilled in me the sensitivity and determination to pursue integrated production, and above all the desire to develop and accentuate this approach. I began with a crucial step: the soil that nourishes my vines; the first steps towards wines that are always expressive, ambassadors of this terroir.
Love and time The estate works its vines with the greatest respect. In 2017, I registered the estate for organic conversion. In addition to copper- and sulfur-based treatments, we add a variety of plants and all our love and time to offer you quality wines! The fruits of our labor should enable us to continue to develop and vinify ever-better wines, to focus on cultivation methods that are ever more committed to respecting the environment, to better serve you.
Wine-making
The vineyard is 95% Melon de Bourgogne. Folle Blanche completes the rest of the vineyard. The Guyot Nantais pruning system is typical of the region, using 3 heads to obtain a cane and 2 spurs. One of the treasures of the estate lies in the structure of its highly varied soil, representative of the vineyard. From sandy loam to siliceous clay, the soils are derived from decomposing metamorphic rocks such as Gabbro, Granite, and Gneiss. The cuvées are selections from the estate’s parcels, expressing the finesse, minerality and typicity of each terroir. My vineyard complies with the commitments of Organic Farming: no synthetic treatments are applied. Vinification remains traditional: light pressing, settling and fermentations in the traditional cement, glass-tiled underground tanks typical of the region. Ageing on the lees is adapted to each cuvée’s terroir expression, over varying lengths of time, to ensure optimum potential of the different terroirs.