Domain of the Ecu

Fred Niger took over from Guy Bossard , a famous Muscadet winemaker . Domaine de l'Ecu is located in Landreau , more precisely a few kilometers east of Nantes , close to Jo Landron of Domaine Landron . The vintages of Domaine de l'Ecu are very famous today. The estate has been certified organic since 1972 , Demeter certified since 1998 and certified Biodyvin since 2014 , it is a pioneering domain in French organic farming . For Fred, organic certification was not enough: he finds that the specifications are rather lax, particularly on winemaking. This is why he was very demanding with himself by seeking stricter certifications.
Fred Niger pampers his plots every day and is very attentive to the preservation of his terroir and its soils. It is at Landreau that he and his team cultivate 24 hectares of vines as intelligently as possible. As some say, a great wine is born in the vineyard. It is when the work on the soil is mastered that the grapes are of quality.
On the winemaking side, Fred is keen to produce wines with as little intervention as possible, natural wines . without a shadow of an oenological input, with little or no sulfur. The particularity of Domaine de l'Écu also lies in its aging in amphorae . Vinifying in amphorae requires a lot of work, monitoring and handling, but Fred Niger particularly appreciates this technique for the purity of the fruit and the expression of the terroir, permitted by the natural origin of the clay and the neutrality of the terracotta. For him, it is the culmination of a global approach linked to biodynamics .
The Domaine de l’Écu has more than 50 vintages and the estate's vintages always reveal the different expressions of the terroir.
Our favorite: Matris , a Chenin aged for 12 months in amphora with beautiful complexity.