They last. No question about that. They change. No question about that. Improve is where it gets thorny. To some, yes, to others, not so much. Most of my best Muscadet experiences have all been young. Clos des Briords '02, when it was young, was a ridiculously great and energetic bottle of wine. Jagged edges galore, great concentration and an urgent, excited energy about it. My last bottle, not so much. Other older Muscadet has had an older, cheese rind, yeasty quality that I find off-putting. Or sometimes they get round and the acidity mellows out. They can also get honeyed, but never in my mind the way a great white burg can. There are exceptions. Luneau-Papin for me tastes great at any age, and seems to stay the same with age. Maybe I should correct myself and say the l’Dor stays the same with age to me. '95, '02, '04, '97 I’ve had many times over a vast period of years and they all had that fresh urgency remain constant over the years. The '82 and '76 out of Mag tasted at a Dressner tasting, a couple years back, still had zing and zip, those aged yeasty, honeyed qualities, and even had remaining structure to go longer. Pierre de la Grange, as far as I can tell does not improve and is best drunk young. But the extra lees aging bottlings, Excelsior, seem to be a sure bet to age. My last bottle of the 2001 Clos des Noelles was a genius wine. The note is below.
2001 Luneau-Papin Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Terroir des Schistes Excelsior Clos des Noelles (France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine) 7/30/2007
It was a tremendous example of why you should keep Muscadet. This thing was tight right out of the gates but soon developed like a great white burg does in the glass. Super clean minerality along with complicating notes of ripe strawberry skin and lime zest. Palate had a rich creamy texture and some green apple fruit along with some zany acidity that an acid freak like me thrives on. The palate had a wonderful savory element as the wine opened up. The concentration was awesome. Incredible purity and depth. Grand Cru Muscadet all the way.
I have also the same hopes for the Ollivier “Granite de Clisson” bottlings. The 2005 and 2007 seem to have an extra something from the extra lees aging. The structure seems different than the normal or Clos des Briords.
I don’t think the Bossard l’Expression wines age particularly well, but do typically need 1-2 years to reach prime drinking.
Fief de Breuil from Landron is an ager for sure, I just love the saline/humid character young, I have none left, I am pretty sure.