Winemaker Notes
Long praised as the ultimate oyster wine (an entirely deserved reputation) Muscadet can be even more than your drink of choice to chase bivalves. It fills the mouth with suspicions of honeysuckle and pulpy stone fruits, all while maintaining classic notes of iodine and sea breeze that make this the vinous equivalent of tide pooling.
Uncommonly full and rich but still sporting the crisp acidity and low alcohol that make it so sessionable, this is a Muscadet to enjoy with oysters as well as alongside seared scallops, warm mussels, or roast chicken.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Enticing notes of ripe pear, apple and spices are plush in this white, with a savory beam of fine-grained mineral details driving energy. Shows depth on the long, streamlined and smoky-saline finish, along with a hint of grilled macadamia nut.
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.