Domaine de Bellivière: Wines
All the fruit at Domaine de Bellivière is harvested by hand, before delivery to the cellars, which were rebuilt anew in 2015, a commitment Eric and Christine undertook when it became apparent that Clément would join them to continue their work. Here it is pressed using pneumatic equipment, which Eric acquired in 2004, before the fermentation. For the white wines, Chenin Blanc is fermented and matured on its lees in barrels which are up to three years old, since 2015 sourced from Atelier Centre France. He uses very little new wood, and it is very lightly toasted when he does. Once the fermentation is complete, the wines are assembled from the barrels before bottling, sometimes without filtration. There is never any chaptalisation.
The rosé wines are produced from Pineau d’Aunis, sometimes with the addition of some Grolleau, often with some passerillage. The vinification is again carried out in barrel, in the cool Bellivière cellars. These cellars include a new portion, described above (and pictured above, and below), but also older traditional cellars which extend underground in a network of five corridors (pictured further down the page), the tunnels in the limestone rock reaching depths of up to 20 metres at times The red grapes are destemmed and pressed before fermentation and maceration, which take place in open vats which allow access to the cap for pigeage. Thereafter the wines go into barrel where the malolactic fermentation occurs, and there they remain until September the following year, before racking and being bottled without filtration. Sulphur dioxide use is restricted, but sensibly not eschewed altogether. Eric Nicolas typically added 20 to 30 mg/l in good vintages, this figure climbing to something more like 70 mg/l in less good vintages.
