Cultivation that strives for 100% claire salt pond-based production
With densities of only 1-2 oysters per m2, our fine de claire and salt pond select oysters are meaty, developing the characteristic taste of the region, which is somewhere between the land and the sea.
Meaty oyster cultivated in a salt marsh.
When you eat an oyster, you're tasting all the flavours of its merroir
As they filter seawater, the oysters capture the essence of their marine terroir: the merroir of the Saint-Clément-des-Baleines claire salt ponds.
The taste of our 100% Île de Ré salt pond-raised oysters lingers on the palate, with the slight almond flavour of their merroir and their fine balance of land and sea tastes.
Because they are raised in our salt ponds, our oysters have more glycogen than oysters raised in the open sea. This glycogen creates a hint of sweetness that balances out their delicate salty flavour and gives them a silky but firm texture.
Oyster Farming Experts
No intensive oyster farming, no big machines.
At La Ferme des Baleines, we cultivate our oysters manually in the nursery and lantern nets before they are finished in our 23 hectares (56.8 acres) of claire salt ponds.
Working hands-on with the oysters and tumbling them gives them pretty rigid shells and maximises the size of the oyster inside.
Our pursuit of excellence and our superb location allow us to offer Fines de Claire Oysters, Spéciales de Claire Oysters et Grand Cru Lepage Spéciales Oysters.
| Designation | Crassostrea Gigas, natural cupped oyster |
| Spat | Sourced in Vendée |
| Merroir | Saint-Clément-des-Baleines, île de Ré |
| Cultivation Type | 100% artisanal salt pond cultivation |
| Food Source | 100% natural, phytoplankton-based |
| Density per m² | 1-15 oysters / m2 depending on the type |
| Taste | Fine mix of earth and marine flavors |
| Season | September to May |
