For the first time, the Winemaker of the Year is a producer… of Muscadet. In around ten years, Jérôme Bretaudeau, established in biodynamics at the Domaine de Belle-Vue in Gétigné (Loire Atlantique), has been able to restore this still underrated grape variety to its former glory. Much more than a simple “little white” that goes well with oysters, his wine has found its way to the greatest tables.
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It's the equivalent of the Caesars in cinema. The distinctions awarded by The French Wine Reviewthe oldest magazine in the world dedicated to wine, are particularly coveted in the wine industry.
And at the start of 2025, it was a Muscadet winemaker who won the grail: Jérôme Brétaudeau, based in Gétigné, near Clisson, since 2012, was elected Winemaker of the Year.
A true recognition of the dazzling career of this fervent defender of the Muscadet appellation, starting from two small hectares of vines to forge his way towards the closed circle of the three-starred domains of the Guide to the best wines in France.
For Jérôme Brétaudeau, receiving the title of Winemaker of the Year rewards three things: his progress as a winemaker, but also the quality and diversity of his wines. “L“Muscadet is not just a small white wine that goes well with oysters”slips the one who assures that with melon, a grape variety particularly denigrated until 10 or 15 years ago, and a terroir of South Loire, “we can do haute couture”.
“JI am one of the only ones in Val-de-Loire and the first in Muscadet to receive this title: it will make a lasting impression, raise the appellation, highlight our work in viticulture, our vineyard, and above all show everyone that there is an interest in coming and seeing what we are doing here”rejoices the winegrower, who received the prize on the eve of his 50th birthday.
This winegrower, son of farmers, started in 2001, when he acquired two hectares of vines. He vinified his wine in his parents' old stables until he iFinally set up his cellar at a place called Belle-vue in Gétigné, ten years later. While still almost anonymous, he was at the head of 15 hectares.
-Since then, he has only climbed the ranks. In four years, he joined the Guide, received his first star, his second then his third in 2023. He also entered the Académie du Vin de France. Having become a true star of Muscadet, he ensures that the appellation has its place “on the biggest tables in France and the world“. Moreover, it exports its production in 53 foreign countries, which represents 60% of its sales.
Beyond the famous Burgundy melon, he now vinifies from Chardonnay to Pinot Noir, including Merlot or Pinot Gris and Savagnin, and explores several aging techniques, in barrels, in tuns, or in amphorae depending on the vintages. .
THE two types of soil that it exploits, granites, white quartz and pink quartz, and gabbro (a kind of basalt) give “very particular wines, which are anchored in our diversity of terroir and which please“.
But his secret remains the meticulous work that he and his team carry out on the vines, to obtain a grape “as healthy as possible”. And this remains a challenge in a region plagued by humidity and mildew, a particularly destructive fungus.
“In 2024, we had a very wet year, it summer very difficult because we have lost a little more than 50% of the harvest. Despite everything, we stayed the course, we kept our certifications, and we picked few, but very beautiful grapes. This result, it's really because we were at the bedside of our vineyard“tells us the winegrower, who is part of biodynamics, a practice which considers that the soil and the plants are living materials, and that they must be treated as such, thanks to natural preparations.
“Lhe soil is like a human being. When we are fragile, we are more susceptible to illness. The vine is the same. When you have a vine or soil that is strong, that is resistant, you have a plant that is less susceptible to disease, but above all, which is more capable of producing grapes with a certain balance. A grape that will be able to exude all the nuances of its terroir” he says. “It’s biodynamic wines that thrill me the most.”
Jérôme Bretaudeau's next challenge will be to maintain the level of excellence to which he has raised his field. “I would like togrow in precision from year to year, and in diversity of choice and aromatics.”
This is why he joined forces with the family champagne house Billecart-Salmon to further develop his cellar, and continue to offer both wines typical of his terroir, but also exceptional wines.
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