Domaine Eric Morgat
"One of the best white wines of France. A talent to discover. A rising star to follow.
“Be happy for a moment, this moment is your life.” Persian poet Omar Khayyam
Éric Morgat, owner of this domaine located in the west part of the Loire valley, has made this quote his own.
Eric’s wines are like nectars – often Burgundy-like - which reveal more than what it is at first appearance! Eric Morgat is a winemaker-philosopher who moves forward by questioning what he is doing.
The appellation of Savennieres is one of the best Terroir in France for producing white wine. In the XIX century, a non-official ranking of the five best terroirs includes: Montrachet, Savennieres, Chateau-Chalon, Condrieu and Yquem.
In 1995, Eric started from scratch by herculean works clearing old vineyards and replanting them. This way, he created his own (small) estate with one focus only: quality. Eric now manages with attention and care a 6 hectares estate (equivalent to 3 hectares in Burgundy as vines are planted with a density of 5,000 vines per hectare, not 10,000).
Eric is known for his eclecticism, literature culture (he is a fan of the writer Georges Bernanos), philosophical approach to life as well as his skills for managing vineyards that he takes as a physical challenge. His understanding of the agronomics principle and dedication to viticulture have almost no equivalent in the Loire valley and even all over France.
Eric has a full-time employee all year long and hires 5 more people from April to July for handling what we call the “green works”. A total of 7 people to overlook and tending the 6 hectares (equivalent 3 in Burgundy) of vineyard. A very rare ratio of manpower per hectare. Of course, organic conduct is done with no usage of chemicals or fertilizers. As a result, there is meticulous work and attention to every detail done on each vine. Only a few estates in France can allow this kind of high-end viticulture.
Harvest: Thanks to thhe great work done in the vineyard throughout the season, the Chenin Blanc grapes reach outstanding balances between high maturity and acidity. The perfect recipe to make great wine. Therefore, Eric harvests his grapes at full maturity while keeping a nice acidity (no botrytis though). This gives outstanding balances between ripeness and acidity and therefore complex wine after vinification and elevage.
Elevage: Eric wants his wines to undergo the two fermentations, first the alcoholic fermentation then followed by the malolactic fermentations. It is very unique in Savennieres as most of Savennieres and Anjou wines only do one fermentation.
His wines do their elevage in 400-liter barrels for 22 months. By this process that we use in Burgundy for Chardonnay, it provides to the wine an extra complexity and long ageing potential. There is no filtration before bottling.
In Europe and in the US, the wines of Eric Morgat are very sought after, especially by sommeliers of Michelin stars’ restaurants. His wines are gastronomical wines and they reach another level of complexity along with food. As a result, Morgat is being considered today as one of the most gifted winegrowers of his generation in France.
