Winemaker Notes
Because of the soil and greater concentration achieved with old vines, the Clos des Briords is a more powerful wine than most Muscadets. It is very mineral and quite austere in its youth, rather than fruity and light. Over a few months, or even years if one can wait for it, it develops much complexity in its aromatics and structure.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Full of warm citrus and melon fruits and lightly textured, this is an attractive, ready-to-drink wine. Concentration from low-yielding old vines brings out the rich texture. Drink now.
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.