Landron, Jo 2017 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Le Fief du Breil

(Arrives 7/13) Jo Landron's Fief du Breil is from a beautiful walled vineyard sloping towards the Sèvre, with clay, sand and quartz stones over a bedrock of orthogneiss. The vines average 40 to 50 years of age, the vineyard is certified organic and biodynamic and gives very low yields. In the dense and well-strctured 2017 vintage the wine was aged 30 months sur-lie. This beautiful Muscadet needs aeration or decanting, then shows aromas of grapefruit skin, pear, lime-flower, candied citrus and almond. The palate is perfectly balanced and intensely mineral - showing ripe white fruits, almond, anise and stone flavors with firm acidity and pronounced flavors of stone and saline mineral. This is a bit more forward than the granite and gabbro-based based wines - really superb as a young wine served with shellfish, grilled fish and white meats. As usual with great Muscadet it will age beautifully and pair with monkfish, lobster and aged goat cheeses. 2017 is a great vintage for this superb Muscadet - don't miss it!  David Lillie

Landron, Jo 2020 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Amphibolite

Amphibolite - a metamorphic stone generally formed from gabbro or basalt, with a high concentration of iron and magnesium, prevalent in the vineyard, over a bedrock of gneiss. The wine from this vineyard is low in alcohol  (11.2%) and high in acidity and mineral salts. Bottled after 4 months sur-lie aging and retaining a bit of CO2 from the fermentation, the Cuvée Amphibolite is refreshing, stimulating and a perfect complement to shellfish and light seafood dishes. In 2020 the wine is lovely, with subtle aromas of ripe citrus confit, almond, pear and granny smith; the palate is bone dry but round and refeshing with stone and white fruits, showing a bit more density and alcohol than normal. Enjoy over the next 12 months with some Wellfleet oysters or any mildly flavored fish, even roast chicken. David Lillie

Pépière 2017 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Cru Château Thébaud

The Domaine de la Pépière Cru Communal Château Thébaud comes from old vines in vineyards with great terroir on slopes overlooking the river Maine. The granite here (Granite de Château Thébaud, oddly enough) is fissured and permeable by the vine roots which have access to water during dry spells and absorb micro-nutrients along the way.  2009, 2010, 2012 and 2014 here were among the best of the vintage in Muscadet and the 2017 will stand out as well due to the combination of density and minerality with the very firm acidity of this very good vintage year for Muscadet - those of you lucky enough to have the 2014 in your cellar understand just what a special wine  this is. Notes from Remi Branger: "For the Château Thébaud 2017 - we harvested on the 2nd of September and did a longer elevage - 3 and 1/2 years sur lie, and we bottled it in the spring of 2021. We had thought to do a 4 year elevage but we realized that the exchange between the lies and the wine was occuring faster than usual. We have a beautiful Château Thébaud with aromas of white flowers and a touch of white peach; on the palate the density and power arrive in the finish which is less structured than the 2014 but is more structured and brighter than the 2015."  The 2014 Château Thébaud is one of my favorite Muscadet, though it needs 5 more years to really open up, and the 2017 is not far behind - perhaps a bit more precocious, thus beautiful to drink now or to age for 20 years. David Lillie

Pépière 2017 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Monnières

The 2017 Pépière Cru Communal Monnières - Saint-Fiacre is from a parcel of old vines on bedrock of gneiss, rich in minerals such as feldspar, mica and iron, with sandy limestone topsoils. The Cru is in the heart of the Muscadet region, bordered on the north by the Sevre river and to the southeast by the Maine. Notes from Remi Branger: "In 2017 there was frost in some parcels of Château Thebaud and Clisson but almost none in Monnières-Saint-Fiacre. 2017 is a very beautiful vintage where we find great freshness and structure. We harvested the Monnières parcel on September 7th and after two months of fermentation the wine spent 3 years sur-lie, during which time we performed 3 batonnages - we bottled it in November 2020. I don't know if you remember but at the salons (Jan - Feb 2020) the samples showed beautifully and were all in delicacy. The wine remains in that style, very pure and fine with notes of citrus with a bit of iodine and very lightly fumé."  The wine is less dense than "Clisson" and "Château Thebaud" but our notes from 2020 indicate an equally great Muscadet - ethereal, classy, pure and very long. A great wine for drinking over the next ten to fifteen years.  David Lillie

Bregeonnette (Stéphane Orieux) 2018 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Clos Coudray

 (Arrives 7/15) Stéphane Orieux's father Joseph converted the estate to organic agriculture back in 1967, and Stéphane has continued the great vineyard work of this father. Clos de la Coudraye is an excellent parcel in Vallet on granite subsoil with very old vines. The 2018 spent 18 months sur-lie before bottling. It's a lovely wine with ripe high-toned aromas of lemon confit, melon, dried herbs, white pepper and pear; the palate is dense with stone, citrus, pear and anise flavors, with a lovely, creamy texture and ripe fruit in the finish, framed in minerals and firm acidity. A delicious classic Muscadet from granite soils, drink now or hold up to 10 years. (A bottle of 2014 tasted recently  was superb!) Highly recommended!  David Lillie

Complémen' Terre 2019 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Champ Geffray (Tribute)

Marion Pescheux and Mau Landron began Complémen'terre in 2013, with help from Manu's father Jo Landron, putting together 7.5 hectare of vines in great sites. Farming is organic, of course, the wines go through the malo-lactic transformation and are bottled with minimal SO2. The 2019 "Champ Geffray" (labeled "Tribute" in France) is a beautiful example of the estates more "natural" style of Muscadet, coming from an unusual vineyard with sandstone soils and 50 year-old vines on a steep southwest facing hill above the river Sevre.  The wine shows a light gold/bronze color with intriguing aromas of dried pear and apricot, grapefruit peel, almond and stone with a bit of mint and spice and a hint of oxidation. The palate is light and crystalline with citrus zest, white fruits, earthy spice and mineral flavors that continue in the finish with very firm acidity and terrific length. Beautiful wine - serve with a cevice of fluke, grilled fish, seared scallops...

Luneau-Papin 2018 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Excelsior

Made only in exceptional vintages, the Luneau-Papin "Excelsior - Clos des Noelles" is one of my favorite Muscadets, usually a bit rounder than the granite-soil "L D'Or" but always aromatically complex and with great intensity and length.   The massale-selection vines were planted in 1936 on a terroir of "micaschistes a deux micas," (lieu-dit "La Plecisiere") exposed full south. The grapes are hand-harvested and undergo a slow wild yeast fermentation with 36 months of aging on the lees. The 2018 shows subtle, complex aromas of bitter lemon, lime-flower, melon, pear, mint,  and stone.  The palate is silky, crystalline and dense with fresh white fruits, lime zest, and wet stone with fabulous length of pear, minerals and taut acidity.  Please decant if drinking now, serve with any elegant seafood dish. Cellar five to fifteen years and serve with richer fish dishes, white meats, rabbit. Beautiful wine!  David Lillie

Pépière 2020 Vin de Pays du Val de Loire Côt "La Pépie"

100% Cot (Malbec). Only three of Pépière's 43 certifed-organic hectares of vines are planted to black grapes: Côt and Cabernet Franc (known locally as Breton). They are in the 10-hectare "home" vineyard in Clisson, where the rocky, granite-rich soils yield top-tier Melon de Bourgogne; the black grapes are in a section with a gentle slope and southwestern exposure. The grapes are harvested by hand, destemmed and crushed, with only the free-run juice used for the wine. It is fermented spontaneously with indigenous yeasts, followed by around five months of aging in stainless steel. The 2020 Cot shows lush blackberry aromas with earth and spice; the palate is bright and fresh with deep supple blackberry and red currant fruit that is lifted by bright acidity. The moderate alcohol  contributes to making this a versatile and refreshing red to serve cool with charcuterie, roast chicken, pork dishes and mild cheeses

Pépière 2020 Vins de France Cabernet Franc "La Pépie"

100% Cabernet Franc from  the Pépière 10-hectare "home" vineyard in Clisson, where the rocky, granite-rich soils yield top-tier Melon de Bourgogne; the black grapes are in a section with a gentle slope and southwestern exposure. As with the Côt, the Cabernet Franc is harvested by hand, destemmed and crushed, with only the free-run juice used for the wine. It is fermented spontaneously with indigenous yeasts, followed by around five months of aging in stainless steel. The 2020 shows peppery Cab Franc aromas of ripe red currant and black raspberry, lush and earthy. The palate is ripe and round with bright acidity and deep red currant fruit with hints of licorice, mint, smoke and earth with a nice sappy finish. Serve quite cool with charcuterie, rilletes and rillons, pork and chicken dishes. Lovely wine!  David Lillie