SommSelect is entering our fifth year of offering some of the most sought-after wines in the world. That said, we haven’t even come close to checking off everything on the list—so today is a a big one for us! For the very first time, we are thrilled to showcase one of the most elusive properties in the Loire valley: Domaine de Bellivière.
While Bellivière is a treasured name for “in crowd” European sommeliers, the estate’s wines only occasionally make restaurant cameos here in the US. Wine writers hold the property in similarly reverential regard. The French publication Gault & Millau rates Bellivière as a six-star “exceptional” estate; Wine Advocate says the property “has risen to the ranks of the Loire's (and thus the world's) elite white wine practitioners,” and the 2018 La Revue du Vins de France says Bellivière is “a reference in its region.” The one catch, as you might guess, is that it’s extremely challenging for US consumers to acquire these wines. We’re looking to change that with this spellbinding 2015 Chenin Blanc “L’Effraie.” The equivalent cellar potential, scarcity, cult-like following, and stellar quality would cost a fortune in Burgundy or Champagne, but in this forgotten corner of the Loire valley, you can experience peerless excellence for less than $40. Especially at this modest price, I predict today’s wine will vanish quickly, so don’t wait!
Following an education in enology, Eric Nicolas and his wife and partner in the vines and cellar, Christine, ventured to one of the most obscure and northerly sub-regions of the Loire Valley: the Coteaux du Loir (no “E” on the end of this completely distinct river). The two began Domaine de Bellivière in 1995 with a mere 3.5 hectares of fruit trees, grain, grazing lands for livestock, and a very small amount of extremely old-vine Chenin Blanc. Since day one, the Nicolas family has farmed their property organically, before gradually transitioning to biodynamics and eventually receiving an Ecocert certification in 2011. Today, the Nicolas family is recognized as one of the most respected and uncompromising family estates in the entire Loire valley.
The dominant soil type at Bellivière is tuffeau (soft limestone) and flint, and the family’s deep limestone cellar is perfect for fermenting and storing wine without temperature control. There are no glycol-chilled tanks or electric pumps at Bellivière. Everything is cooled or heated by nature and all wine flows from point A to point B via gravity flow. There are no stainless steel fermenters and really nothing done on anything even approaching an industrial scale. Everything here is done naturally, and each small parcel of grapes is harvested and fermented separately. The family’s white wines, including “L’Effraie,” are fermented in used oak barrels before aging for a minimum of one year before release.
Today’s 2015 Coteaux du Loir Chenin Blanc “L’Effraie” (meaning “the owl,” so named for some local vineyard inhabitants) is a revelation. Simply put, there are few Chenin Blancs on the planet that possess such unique character, depth, and clarity. One of the Nicolas family’s stylistic calling cards is that their wines are almost an exaggerated reflection of the vintage. For instance, in a cold vintage, the wines are austere and angular, or in a warm year, they will be round and luscious. 2015 is a “turn everything up to eleven” vintage so you will experience Bellivière at its peak with today’s offer. That means perfectly chiseled minerality, lip-smacking freshness AND a bushel of ripe apple and stone fruit alongside exotic ginger, chamomile and white tea aromatic fireworks. Eric and Christine consider “L’Effraie” a dry wine but experienced tasters will likely detect some residual sweetness, not unlike that of a classic Mosel Riesling. No matter dry or off-dry, I just say this is an extraordinary wine and a ridiculous value. Bellivière whites are renowned for their cellaring potential. I’ve enjoyed bottles from the mid-2000s recently and while they were overflowing with secondary aromas and rich, honeyed texture, their expiration date was nowhere in sight! That said, this 2015 “L’Effraie” is a prime opportunity to enjoy a young-drinking Bellivière white. Simply decant for 20 minutes and serve at 50-55 degrees in large Bordeaux stems, and prepare your favorite Asian-inspired fish dish. For me, the quintessential culinary companion to this wine is a deceptively simple and quick miso-broiled black cod preparation (attached). You can’t go wrong!
