I’ve recently been sold on the idea of exploring Muscadet. This is a type of wine with which I have exactly zero experience. Where should I start with this wine, and where will it lead me? Are there different styles of Muscadet? Which producers and vintages should I seek-out? TIA. ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Pepiere (Marc Oliver)
Luneau-Papin
Bregeon
Comerais
- 1,000,000,000
I’m no expert, but have had quite a few of these, particularly from the producers that Trip-G mentions. These can age amazingly well, too, for wines that seem to be stylistically on the light side. I’ve been drinking some 2000 and 2002 that have been just delicious, deep and complex. Having said that, you will likely find these to be more on the mineral end of the scale, more acid, not at all like SB or Chard, but more like a toned down white Rhone. Think sparkling wine w/o the bubbles for an idea of the weight, not taste.
You will hear to drink them with raw oysters and other seafood, and that’s a good choice, but it’s a pretty versatile wine.
- 2,000,000,000 Pepiere “Clos des Briords” is all you need to know.
En magnum
Brian - it’s often a rather light, acidic wine. As a grape, Melon doesn’t have a hell of a lot of personality, very much like Chardonnay, which is a sibling. Generally where it’s grown on the west end of the Loire, it’s pretty cool and damp with the Atlantic weather coming in. So it rarely gets really ripe and sweet. You end up with a grape that’s characteristic of very cool-climate viticulture. Unlike say Riesling, however, which has very identifiable aromas and flavors, Melon is more neutral.
Two kind of cool things to know - first, Muscadet is unusual in that it’s not the name of the region or the grape, so in that sense it’s kind of an anomaly in France. Second, supposedly the region was first planted at the direction of the emperor Probus. He was originally from a wine making family in Pannonia, which is now in Hungary, where he owned property and had his soldiers plant as well. Tokaj is a bit farther east but he was there too and when I’m trying to describe a dry Furmint to people, the closest analogy I can come up with is Muscadet. The vine isn’t similar, nor is the grape, but the resulting wine is usually a very dry, acidic, citrusy wine that is often modified greatly by the tricks of the winemaker. So at either end of the empire, somewhat similar grapes were planted by the same guy.
Anyhow, that’s a stretch so back to the grape. Because it’s very light and almost insipid, people do a lot to it. The neighboring regions have plenty of Sauvignon Blanc with it’s characteristic bell-pepper and grapefruit notes. Nothing quite as identifiable with the Muscadet. So one thing people do is age it on the lees. If you find a Muscadet sur lie, it’s supposed to have been on the lees for the entire winter. Some people keep it on the lees even longer. That supposedly gives it a bigger, creamier mouthfeel, which is why they do it with Chardonnay as well, but the funny thing is, you still have a pretty dry, acidic wine and I’d guess that many people would be hard-pressed to differentiate blind. However, since the sur lie wines are still inexpensive, buy both and find out.
There are subregions, for example, Muscadet-Sèvre et Maine, which might be the best known, but the entire region is not a huge area to begin with and I’m not certain that there’s all that much difference between the subregions. I’d think there’s more dif between producers.
Sometime in the 1990s they brought in stainless steel and most of the wines done today, including those suggested above, are done in stainless steel, which was of course a concept introduced from California. They used to do the wine in wood or concrete and some people are still doing that, but in general there’s nothing “traditional” about the wines that are most prized today and to me, that’s a good thing because a lot of them are really good, generally quite clean, and thoroughly enjoyable when you’re in the mood for that style. It’s a little amazing but you can find some excellent wines for really low prices and for me, the wines from the Loire in general remain some of the best values out there. Generally as a profile you have fairly muted aromas, sometimes with some tropical fruit or grassy notes, and on the palate you have lots of green apple and lemon acidity that leaves a nice clean finish. Cheers.
Thank you for chiming-in, guys.
Greg,
Huge thanks to you — your post multiplied my knowledge of Muscadet by a factor larger than I can quickly figure-out!
earlier today I bought the only Muscadet carried by my local wine retailer: 2009 Muscadet Sevre et Maine Selection des Hauts Pemions Sur Lie
The shop owner told me it is a good example of Muscadet, and is “what Muscadet should be” considering its humble price (I only had to fork out about $10 for it).
I’m looking to expand my knowledge of white wines, as I find myself increasingly favoring them over reds, as I find them more enjoyable to drink with food, and it’s usually the food I’m eating that dictates which wine I open. I’ve heard good things about Muscadet here-and-there on this board and others, and a particular person recenlty convinced me I need to explore these wines, so now I’m motivated.
Because they are in-season right now, I plan on trying it out with a bowl full of mussels.
Keep the recs. coming, folks. I appreciate the guidance.
- BG
Brian,
If you’re exploring white wines in general, don’t ignore Vouvray.
Gregg is correct:
Pepiere
Luneau-Papin
Bregeon
I would add:
Louvetrie (Jo Landron)
I love Pepeire… but this is actually a region with a lot of good producers and it’s hard to go wrong. Example: I grabbed an $11 bottles of Domaine de la Quilla Sevre et Maine from 2010. On opening it was a bit closed, maybe slightly reductive. It opened nicely the next night. Then I forgot about it… for a week. Grabbed the rest of the bottle last night and it was great, with pure pear flavors. After a week on the countertop.
Honestly, I’d buy a mixed case and drink through it. The 2010s are quite nice, they’re cheap and you’ll spend maybe $150 for the case.
Note that they DO age. For decades if stored properly. Which reminds me, I have some from the mid90s to check in on…
My two favorites:
Luneau-Lapin L d’Or. The grapes are grown on gneiss, granite, and mica. This has to be one of my favorite cuvees, and it ages. A 1989 I had absolutely sang.
Pepiere Clos de Briords. Here, the soils are clay and sand with a granite subsoil. An incredibly elegant and complex wine that can be had for $15. I can think of no greater value out there.
The wines from Delhommeau have become our summer house whites, his Cuvée Harmonie in particular.
Just picked up a new one (to me) his Cuvée Nathalie. Looking forward to trying.
Try Pepiere Granite de Clisson. 2005 and 2007 were both great wines.
My favourite Muscadets come from Marc Ollivier [Domaine de la Pepiere], Pierre Luneau-Papin and now his son Pierre-Marie Luneau [Domaine Pierre de la Grange] which have already been mentioned PLUS Guy Bossard [Domaine de L’Ecu]
Ollivier’s wines have been difficult to find in the UK with the majority of his production going to the USA and I have mostly had his various cuvees in France although some are now available here. I have recently bought the excellent 2009 Clos des Briords and Les Gras Moutons including the odd old vintage of the former.
Pierre Luneau-Papin’s cuvees are more widely available at least in the UK [e.g. Le L d’Or 2009 is and will be great but the 1999 can also still be found] as are Guy Bossard’s biodynamic wines.
I have not tasted Bossard’s latest vintages but I am currently drinking his 2005 and 2006 Granite, Gneiss and Orthogneiss cuvees which IMO are very worthy though less expensive [they are all relatively inexpensive] comparisons with the Ollivier and Luneau-Papin wines. The 2005 Granite [which was also issued under the Les Amis Vignerons d’Anne-Claude Leflaive label – no bad endorsement in itself] has been particularly good.
I’d just echo all of the recommendations here, and (of course) especially the Pepiere. Others seem good, and variety is laudable, but the Pepiere wines always seem a bit better than most others, and at no more money. I do need to explore a bit more myself, I particularly need to try L d’Or, as I hear good things.
It’s only in the past year or so that I’ve come to realize what a wonderful region the Loire is for a vast diversity of excellent wines. From the wonderful whites of muscadet a good next stop are Chenins from further upriver. Remarkable wines, and if not quite as inexpensive as muscadet, the value is still incredible. Then of course there are all of the superb red wines that the region has to offer. For my taste, if you find yourself more drawn to the refreshing and cleansingly food-friendly aspects of whites, you may really enjoy a lot of Loire reds. To me Loire Cab Franc, Gamay, and even Cot offer wines of depth and substance that tend to remain fresh and crisp in all but the ripest years or treatments.
No, you’ve got it wrong. Nothing in the Loire to see…move along
I’ve had excellent experiences with these producers.
Pepiere (Briords)
Bregeon
Delhommeau (Harmonie)
Brian - I forgot to mention, as Rick says, those wines can age. That’s something that’s even more amazing when you consider the prices. I have some from the mid 1990s and they’re just amazing. I tend to blow thru them pretty quickly because they’re so inexpensive but unintentionally I kept a few for a while and when I opened them I was very pleasantly surprised. Now I don’t worry about not getting to them. They retain that acidity but they take on the interesting kind of nutty notes of aged whites on top. I have a few from 1997 and my plan was to try them on the 15 year mark. No particular reason other than it seemed like a nice round number.
BTW - I should say that you might take a look at some reds too. If you’re not interested in the style, that’s understandable and many people aren’t. But again, they have their place and in the right context, can be pretty wonderful and even better, can be real bargains. There’s a co-op producer in Saumur that puts out both a white and a red, both retailing for under $10 most places. I can testify that the red ages and actually IMPROVES for at least 8 years. What a fantastic buy. If I’m not mistaken, the white is Chenin Blanc and that’s another white you might consider exploring. It has more native personality than Melon but has a similar family style if you will - usually very bright and crisp, w/out a lot of weight. Good stuff.
It’s because I enjoyed those so much that a few years ago I started looking at other whites that I’d not really paid much attention to before. Spain I kind of knew but Italy and Greece are two places that I started exploring. Lots to learn!
Speaking of reds, Marc Ollivier also makes a Cot that’s aromatically interesting light, translucent and just FUN. It’s about $15. But… Cot = Malbec. I was floored when I realized this the first time. His Cab Franc is fun too, but the idea that Malbec could make a wine like that blew my mind.