Her story
For Amélie the winegrowing business was no major discovery. Like Obélix, she stumbled into this domain when she was very young.
At the age of 14, Amélie wanted to follow a BTA (agricultural technician) course but her father insisted she study for the Baccalauréat. Upset and somewhat stubborn, Amélie kept her distance from the vineyard for several years.
After her Baccalauréat, she went on to study for a Masters degree in human resources, before going to work in a bank as an HR Manager where she remained for 10 years.
Following her father’s advice to open up new horizons for herself, enriched by her unusual and educative career, she returned to Domaine de Nerleux in 2010 and thus became the ninth generation to work there.
Her daily life
Amélie loves every aspect of her job. Each day brings hundreds of new things to do, no two days are alike, and she never gets bored. Keen to make her own personal contribution, she has also developed wine tourism at Domaine de Nerleux. For her, a typical day starts with an early morning visit to the vineyard to see her employees. At lunchtime, she sometimes meets with other local winegrowers.
The notion of sharing is very strong in these appellation areas and a good atmosphere reigns between the different estates. In the afternoon and evening, Amélie takes care of the marketing side of things. Domaine de Nerleux is an estate of significant size but remains a family estate with a human feel, a real team spirit and an excellent atmosphere. All of the staff have been there for over 10 years, some of them as long as 30 years.
The wines
Domaine de Nerleux benefits from the exceptional setting of the quarries that surround the vineyard and which provided the tuffeau stone used in the estate’s buildings. The wine is pleasant to drink and its very purpose is to enhance moments spent in the company of other people. Amélie is as generous in her wines as she is in life. The wine batches are so diverse that she can produce a very wide range of different blends, from classic vintages for basic pleasures, to wines with more originality.
Saumur Champigny 2016 Fact Sheet
Pairing suggestions…
Amélie is lucky enough to have a mum who’s a great cook! So if you get an invitation to dinner, you can be sure you’ll enjoy her amazingly creamy sweetbreads, which will be served with a glass of Loup Blanc…
