The Domain
Winemakers from father to son
Le Fief aux Dames, a family business for five generations...
Le Fief aux Dames is a family estate in Monnières at the heart of the historical cradle of the Nantes vineyards between the 2 rivers Sèvre and Maine. For nearly a century, five generations of winegrowers have succeeded in the BRAUD family. Daniel took over the Domaine in 1975.
Until the early 70s, the estate was in mixed farming with a few cows, a horse for ploughing and vines. In 1970, Raymond, Daniel's father, devoted himself solely to the vine with early tractors. The Domaine name comes from a plot on our estate and has become the identity of our Domaine. For generations, our motto has been to make people discover our job as winegrowers through visits of the vineyard, the winery and the tasting of our different Muscadets. We welcome people in a warm and authentic way.
Daniel, the manager of the company, takes care of the vineyard, the winery and welcomes customers. Marie -Jeanne, his partner, manages the accounts and the B & B at the Domaine. Our son Julien, who set up his own business on an organic plot, helps us for the big jobs.
A selection of the best terroirs...
Our vineyard is 28 hectares large and is located on the slopes of the Sèvre Nantaise where you find various soils. With the common characteristic of being on shallow sandy loam soils, some of the vines are grown on soils whose bedrock is gneiss producing fruity and floral wines. The other part is on gabbros bringing more richness and ampleness. On our property, we mainly produce "Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur Lie". This is an AOC (Controlled Appellation of Origin) of the Loire Valley vineyards producing dry white wines made from a single grape variety: Melon de Bourgogne. This appellation has been a listed AOC since 1937. In order to express our different terroirs as well as possible, we offer different cuvées: parcel selections, blended cuvées, cuvées aged in oak barrels...
The winery: Modernity combined with the typical...
The rosette on the Domaine house shows that it was built in the early eighteenth century. A sign of nobility, this roundel was partly destroyed during the revolution in 1789. Our winery combines modernity and antiquity with its two distinct parts. The old part consists of a barrel cellar on a dirt floor and with a stone staircase. This typical vineyard architecture stands alongside a more modern part where the pneumatic press and thermo-regulated tanks are.
Our facilities allow us to offer typical wines, respectful of our land and of the environment. The Domaine is certified "TERRA VITIS" and is regularly audited for compliance with the specifications of Sustainable Viticulture Terra Vitis Loire defining the conditions for a sustainable practice of viticulture.
The Domaine wines are matured 'sur Lie' in the tradition of our region: the wine remains on its lees at least until March (7 months) or more often July or August. This ancient practice gives the wines a slight effervescence called "pearling."
The vineyards of Fief aux Dames is as follows :
- 26 hectares of Muscadet Sèvre et Maine AOC (65 acres)
- 0.3 hectares of Wine Country (0.75 acres)
- 0.5 hectares of Gros Plant Pays Nantais VDQS (1.25 acres)
The Domaine Fief aux Dames produces the following wines :
- Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur Lie cuvée Tradition
- Muscadet Sèvre et Maine matured in oak barrels
- Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur Lie " Jeannière "
- Cru Communal (Village Cru) " Monnières - St Fiacre "
- High-quality sparkling wine " La Folie des Dames "
- Rosé Vin de France
- • Grape Juice
- • Sparkling Grape Juice
