Jean Baptiste Hardy Ponceau 2021
Grapes: Merlot, Cabernet Franc & Cabernet Sauvignon
Carbonic maceration of Merlot, Cabernet Franc & Cabernet Sauvignon
An emergence of talented young vignerons in Loire are inheriting small plots from their family’s historic estates and applying a more artisanal approach to farming and a healthy curiosity in the cellar. Enter Jean-Baptiste Hardy, who in 2018, returned to his family’s estate in Mouzillon on the banks of the Sanguèze river, to revive some of his family’s best parcels over diverse terroirs. After traveling the world with formative work experiences at a few domaines dear to our heart (including Bodegas Chacra & Domaine Roulot), he returned with a better understanding of his hometown’s potential. Mouzillon, at the heart of the Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, one finds soils composed of gabbro (volcanic rocks) and silica-clay, where Jean-Baptiste manages to coax out wines of texture and freshness that we loved immediately, reminiscent of great Chablis. The potential is here and we’re betting this young winemaker will become one of the appellation's stars.