Domaine Le Fay d'Homme, Muscadet, Terre de Gabbro Concrete Egg, Loire, France (150cl.), 2017

Producer Profile

The winery is nestled in the heart of the Muscadet Sèvre et Maine appellation, the Domaine Fay d’Homme is a family affair, the craft of winemaking is a family tradition that is passing on from generation to generation in Caillé family.

In 1986, Vincent Caillé, took over the lead in running the family vineyard's operations, and since then, he is producing wines of the highest standards, combining low intervention and traditional methods, producing premium quality wines that are also expressive and reflect the Muscadet Sevre et Maine terroir. The ‘Christelle Guibert Connection’ - during a work trip in her home region of Muscadet for the British journal “Decanter”, Christelle was stricken by the high number of abandoned vineyards and by the growing number of producers who were working on the terroir. This region was the perfect place to realise her dream, and ‘Terre de Gneiss’ was born from her wish to make this forgotten wine region rise. Christelle created Vine Revival with her sister Corinne, and immediately called Vincent Caillé from Domaine Le Fay d’Homme to forge a union. ‘Terre de Gneiss’ and ‘Terre de Gabbro’ are the result of this association; modern Muscadets, based on terroir, stemming from traditional and biodynamic viticulture practices. These wines have a certain complexity which will allow them to have space amongst prestigious wines from a region in full renewal! Both Christelle and the Caillé family have experienced many challenges in the past seven years, from severe frosts to serious power outages that at one point caused the loss of their entire harvests; despite everything, Vincent and Christelle have managed to move beyond that, keeping quality as their main goal producing excellent wines each vintage.

Viticulture

In another vineyard the near village of Monnières the soils are volcanic gabbro rocks and was planted between 32 and 45 years ago. Farmed organically and biodynamically.

Winemaking

After a light settling overnight by gravity, indigenous yeasts start the fermentation. The wine is aged on the lees in amphoras.

Tasting Note

Light yellow/gold. Earthy on the nose, with interesting minerality expressive of the Melon grape. Beautiful palate of pear, apples, lime over a gently rich mineral profile. Complex length.

Food Matching

Grilled shrimp, oysters, scallops, light salads and soft cheeses.