Louise Chéreau Vices & Vertus

Orgueil Méthode Traditionnelle Brut 2020

Orgueil bottle
Orgueil label

Louise Chéreau Vices & Vertus Orgueil Méthode Traditionnelle Brut 2020

As the voice of the new generation at the Chéreau Carré winery in France’s Loire Valley, Louise Chéreau is shaking things up by creating fresh new expressions of traditional grapes and terroirs with her new line called Vices & Vertus. In this spirit, she’s releasing a bottle-fermented sparkling wine made with melon de bourgogne, the traditional grape of Muscadet. The fruit comes from 40+ year-old vines at the winery’s Chasseloir estate, a prime location on the Maine river, on schist soils. This wine shows off a different side of muscadet and hints at the immense potential of this region for sparkling wines.

Vinification – This sparkling wine is made entirely in-house using the méthode traditionelle. After initial fermentation in underground cement tanks, the wine undergoes a secondary fermentation in bottle and is aged on the lees for nine months. The dosage of 5.7g/L (Brut) was chosen to accent the freshness and aromatics and was done with grape must from estate fruit. The grapes all come from the 2020 harvest in this release of Orgueil. Disgorgement was done by hand at the winery in February 8th, 2023. The liqueur de tirage is made from an older vintage of their Comte Leloup Muscadet.

  • Vin Mousseux de Qualité

  • Site: Chasseloir at 175m

  • Grapes: Melon de Bourgogne

  • Vine Age: 40-60 years old

  • Soil: Schist

  • Farming: Ecologic – Certified Haute Valeur Environnementale (HVE) Level 3

  • Vinification: Fermented in cement tanks

  • Aging: Nine months on the lees

  • Secondary Fermentation: Méthode traditionnelle

  • Vegan: Yes

  • Disgorgement: February 8th, 2020

  • Suggested Retail: $28.00