About
Domaine de la Soufrandière
Domaine de la Soufrandière is located in Vinzelles, Mâconnais, Burgundy. Jean-Philippe Bret and Jean-Guillaume Bret, the current winemakers at the domaine, farm the 12 hectares of vineyards according to organic and biodynamic principles. The parcels were certified by Ecocert in 2006.
Jean-Philippe Bret and Jean-Guillaume Bret’s wines are satiny, pure, reliably flavorful and expressive.
The top wines of the domaine are: Saint-Véran La Combe Desroches and Mâcon-Vinzelles Clos de Grand-Père.
The Saint-Véran La Combe Desroches 2019 scored 92 and the Mâcon-Vinzelles Clos de Grand-Père 2011 scored 92 by the Wine Advocate.
Robert Parker’s tasting notes on the Saint-Véran La Combe Desroches 2019: “The 2019 Saint-Véran La Combe Desroches wafts from the glass with scents of orange oil, honeyed orchard fruit, elderflower and warm bread. Medium to full-bodied, bright and layered, it's attractively tensile despite the warmth of the vintage.”
History
Jean-Philippe Bret and Jean-Guillaume Bret are the current vignerons in charge of winemaking at Domaine de la Soufrandière.
The Brets purchased the property in Vinzelles in 1947. In 2000 Jean-Philippe Bret and Jean-Guillaume Bret took their vineyards out of the local cooperative and founded their domaine based on the Pouilly-Vinzelles appellation. The started the négociant label “Bret Brothers” in 2001.
Approach
Organic, Certified biodynamic by Ecocert since 2006
Jean-Philippe Bret and Jean-Guillaume Bret have been farming the vineyards of Domaine de la Soufrandière organically since 2000, with the move to the biodynamic principles shortly after that. The domaine obtained Ecocert in 2006.
The fruits are picked manually into small crates and then wholly pressed in the cuverie before descending by gravity into the barrel cellar. The winemakers don’t use much new wood, and the wines are either bottled after 11 months or moved into a second-year cellar for further ageing on the lees — usually in small tanks.