Muscadet(meuhs-kah-DAY) a light, dry, white wine located in the western portion of the Loire around the town of Nantes. Muscadet, although local known as Melon de Bourgogne, is often viewed as an inexpensive and ordinary wine. And for the most part it is. It's not to say there are not some great producers. When hunting for a Muscadet look for Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine, preferable one that is labeled mise en bouteille sur lie or bottled directly off the lees. Not only is this the best of the four regions for Muscadet but the process of lees aging and bottling without fining and filtering adds soft, creamy and more flavorful nuances.
A producer that I enjoy is Louis Métaireau Petit Mouton, Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine 2008 "Sur lie". This particular estate started as a vision of one man and became a collective group of growers and winemakers looking to improve quality, and improve the purity and personality of the region's wines. Today the estate is in the hands of Métaireau's daughter Marie-Luce & her husband Jean-Francois Guilbaud. Totaling roughly 30 hectares of 35 year old vines, Jean-Francois & Marie-Luce continue to make wines in a traditional way. In order to preserve the old vines, all the grapes are harvested by hand. After spending the winter on its lees, each vat is tasted blind and a decision is made as to which cuvee it will become. Bottling takes place in the spring according to the age-old sur lie method. In the spring after the vintage, the wine is drawn off from its lees with as little handling as possible, and no filtration. This wine is very fresh with a fairly bright citrus character. Old vines grown in siliceous rock give this wine its backbone of minerality.
Enjoy this wine with shellfish, light cheese, as a starter, or even in the dead of winter.
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