Founded on a stony hillside above the hamlet of La Pepiere, this estate did more than almost any other to prove that Muscadet could be a serious, terroir-driven wine.
Backstory
Marc Ollivier, a former engineer, founded the domaine in 1984 near Maisdon-sur-Sevre in the heart of Muscadet Sevre et Maine, taking over family vines and adding the now-famous Clos des Briords parcel. Over three decades he built the estate parcel by parcel, choosing sites for their terroir rather than convenience. As losses from difficult vintages mounted, he formalised a partnership with two proteges: Remi Branger, from a Muscadet winemaking family, who started as an employee in 2006 and became a partner in 2011, and Gwenaelle Croix, who joined in 2013. Ollivier's last vintage was 2019.
The Region
The vines sit in Muscadet Sevre et Maine, southeast of Nantes, where an Atlantic climate and varied volcanic and metamorphic bedrock shape the wines. The estate holds parcels across four of the appellation's crus communaux: Clisson, Chateau-Thebaud, Monnieres-Saint Fiacre and Gorges.
Vineyards and Farming
The domaine now totals around forty-two hectares, with roughly half falling within cru boundaries, an unusually high proportion for an independent Muscadet estate. Ollivier farmed organically from the start, when that was almost unheard of in the region; Branger pushed the organic conversion and Croix later introduced biodynamic practices.
The Wines
The wines are Melon de Bourgogne, from the bright, lees-aged Pepie and the classic Sevre et Maine sur lie to the structured, age-worthy cru bottlings such as Clos des Briords and Clisson, made with natural yeasts and minimal sulphur.
