MASSON BLONDELET
Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé
Certified High Environmental Value
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Pouilly-sur-Loire is located in the centre of France, on the Loire river, 200 Km in the South of Paris. Michelle & Jean-Michel Masson created DOMAINE MASSON-BLONDELET in 1975, being the sixth generation of wine producers in the family.
In 1980, they built a cellar digged underground with 3 levels to work by gravity. The estate is now 21 AOC hectares (17 in Pouilly Fume and 4 in Sancerre) of Sauvignon Blanc & Pinot Noir. The vineyards which are on South /East facing slopes enjoy a micro-climate caused by the Loire river which protects them from the extreme variations in temperature. There are 3 different soils on the AOC Pouilly-Fumé area: Kimmeridgean marls, Limestone and Flint (silex). The vines are planted on these 3 different soils, and vinifed separately to get the best expression of each soil and terroir. In the cellar, the philosophy in terms of wine making process is to prefer physical treatments in order to banish the chemical ones (even the softest) and to limit the use of SO2. That is why they work with three main principles: The use of gravity, the use of cold settling and the keeping of the natural CO2 of fermentation. MASSON-BLONDELET have not been using ANY CHEMICAL FERTILISER (for more than 40 years), NOR INSECTICIDE, NOR WEED-KILLER for almost 15 years now ! Working the soils is crucial because by plowing them regularly, they encourage the expression of each of their three ‘Terroirs’. |
