Winemaker Notes
The grapes are harvested manually, then they are carefully transported to the wine cellar. The pneumatic press is filled by gravity, so grapes are not crushed. The fermentation naturally takes place in an underground vat, for about one month. After this, the aging begins. Domaine de la Pepiere practices "batonnage" (stirring of the lies). The batonnage gives a great aromatic complexity and gustatory richness to this wine. The Château Thébaud passes 30 months on the lees before the bottling. This Cru has a great ageing potential.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Fruity and straightforward, showing sliced apples and pastry spices on the nose. Medium-bodied with fresh acidity. Round and mellow.
Made famous in Muscadet, a gently rolling, Atlantic-dominated countryside on the eastern edge of the Loire, Melon de Bourgogne is actually the most planted grape variety in the Loire Valley. But the best comes from Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, a subzone of Pays Nantais. Somm Secret—The wine called Muscadet may sound suggestive of “muscat,” but Melon de Bourgogne is not related. Its name also suggests origins in Burgundy, which it has, but was continuously outlawed there, like Gamay, during the 16th and 17th centuries.
The Pays Nantais, Loire’s only region abutting the Atlantic coast, is solely focused on the Melon de Bourgogne grape in its handful of subzones: Muscadet-Sèvre et Maine, Muscadet-Coteaux de la Loire and Muscadet-Côtes de Grandlieu. Muscadet wines are dry, crisp, seaside whites made from Melon de Bourgogne and are ideal for the local seafood-focused cuisine. (They are not related to Muscat.) There is a new shift in the region to make these wines with extended lees contact, creating fleshy and more aromatic versions.