Winemaker Notes
#71 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2019
Serve this delectable wine an aperitif, with shellfish, ocean and river fish, fresh cheese (soft goats’ cheese) and those with a rind such as Emmental and Beaufort.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Very pure, showing a bit of richness, with a silky texture and notes of lemon verbena, lime zest, chamomile and fleur de sel that persist on the long, savory and dry finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
Old vines from a wholly owned, 5.6-acre vineyard give this intense wine. Its ripe character and ripe fruitiness are balanced by delicious, refreshing acidity. A strong mineral backdrop in the texture adds bite. The wine will be ready from late 2019.
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.