Story: When the "Pope of Muscadet" Guy Bossard retired in 2009, Fred Niger van Herck, a former web hotel owner who had previously studied to be a lawyer in Paris but now wanted to return to Nantais where he grew up, took over. It turned out to be a match made in heaven! The vineyards at Domaine de l’Écu have never seen chemicals. Guy was an early adopter of organic farming (certified in 1975), long before it was fashionable and after he met Mark Angeli, the path to biodynamic farming was mapped out (Demeter 1998). Fred has taken this iconic Muscadet domaine further, as well as a little bit bigger, and makes a range of wines that are different from anything else made in the area. As before, he makes the "regular" Melon de Bourgogne “sur lies” wines from two different vineyards: Granit and Orthogneiss. Both with extended time on the lees that provides structure and can withstand both 10 and 20 years in the cellar. In addition to these, Fred makes a vast number of different wines, often with long élevage in amphora, he even claims to have the world's largest collection! These wines are made in very small quantities and are sought after all over the world.  Fred Niger is a man with energy and of energy. He loves to provoke. There are always different aspects of any matter, which is reflected in the many styles of wines that he makes. Since a few years he is part of a project called Temps de Copains where likeminded winemakers from different regions swap grapes with one another to experiment and see how they can interpret grapes from somewhere else. This results in many different styles with sometimes unexpected synergies.