The Pépière team in 2018 with the youthful Gwénaëlle Croix and Rémi Branger

2022 Pépière "Briords Vieilles Vignes" and More Mid-Summer Muscadet...

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The Domaine de la Pépière "Briords Vielles Vignes" is one of the greatest values in white wine to be found anywhere in the world offering elegance, complexity, great terroir expression and sensational food pairing with just about anything from the sea, not to mention quiches, salads, mild cheeses and much more. But it's not a question of price - "Briords" is a unique and beautiful wine that is superb on release and that will age beautifully in most vintages for 20 years and more.

We have been enjoying "Briords" since our friend Marc Ollivier first produced it in 1988. Probably now out fishing in Brittany, in his fourth (?) year of much-deserved retirement, Marc started with a few parcels from his family and through his deep intelligence and hard work transformed them into one of the great domaines of the Loire Valley, now in the very capable hands of Rémi Branger and Gwénaëlle Croix.  The estate produces this great wine from very old vines on a superb terroir of Château Thébaud granite with a thin layer of very porous sandy clay soil. When young, the wine is atomospheric and mineral, like sea air on a rocky coast, and the 2022 combines this ethereal character with a softer, elegant palate, making it delicious to drink now, and over the next ten to fifteen years.

Also just released from Domaine de la Pépière is the lovely 2022 "La Pépie." The core of the "La Pépie" Sur Lie bottling is the 10-hectare heart of the Pépière estate, which is part of the Clisson cru in the tiny commune of Pépière near the winery; there is also a significant percentage of their cru Château Thébaud fruit, as well as some purchased fruit from a nearby organic farmer friend in the mix. This is a round and refreshing Muscadet, with a bit more weight and density, due to the warm, dry conditions in 2022, that will be perfect with oysters, grilled fish, roast chicken, Asian foods and mild goat cheeses.

Joceyln and Jo Landron

And just a reminder that the superb 2020 "Clisson" and 2019 "Château Thébaud" remain available - these two Cru Communal wines will need to be opened well in advance for current drinking, but it's well worth the effort, as both will bring joy to the table with lobster, scallops or a full-flavored fish preparation this summer. Or put them in the cellar for five years and enjoy until 2040...

Also available is our current favorite from Jo Landron, the 2017 "Fiefs du Breil." This is, of course, one of the most important estates in the region and a leader in the movement towards better farming - organic since 1999 and Biodynamic since 2011. While this wine shows fabulous complexity of subtle stone fruit aromas and flavors, it's the intense expression of terroir that makes it unique, with stone and mineral notes and crystalline acidity. Decant the superb "Fief du Breil" if drinking now, or hold and enjoy until 2040 - this is one of the finest Muscadets of the past ten years!

Please allow until Thursday 7/13 before pick-up or shipping. All wines discount 10% on a case or mixed case.

 

Pépière 2022 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine s Lie La Pépie

100% Melon de Bourgogne. Classic Muscadet on granite. The core of the "La Pépie" Sur Lie bottling is the 10-hectare heart of the Pépière estate, which is part of the Clisson cru in the tiny commune of Pépière near the winery; there is also a significant percentage of their cru Château Thébaud fruit, as well as some purchased fruit from a nearby organic farmer friend in the mix. Farming is certified-organic and the harvest by hand. The 2022 "La Pépie" shows a very pale gold color and ripe floral aromas of dried pear, quince, fines herbes, grapefruit and stone. The palate is round  and refreshing,  a bit softer than usual, with wet stone, pear, tart citrus, almond and mineral flavors. The finish is long and clean with citrus, a hint of anise and saline minerals. This is a round and refreshing Muscadet, with a bit more weight and density due to the warm, dry conditions in 2022 that will be perfect with oysters, grilled fish, roast chicken, Asian foods and mild goat cheeses. Thanks to Gwénaëlle and Rémi for another delicious "Pépie!"

  • white
  • 35 in stock
  • $16.99

  • Organic
  • Biodynamic

Pépière 2019 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Cru Château Thébaud

(Arrives 5/23) The 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 2019 will stand out as well due to the combination of density and minerality with the firm acidity and great ripeness of this very good vintage year for Muscadet. Our tasting in February revealed a superb Muscadet, not marked by the heat of the vintage, showing crystalline white fruit and stone flavors with firm acidity, fantastic purity, density and length. Of course this will offer briliant drinking as a young wine, but try to put some away for ten years at least...

  • white
  • 13 in stock
  • $31.99

  • Organic
  • Biodynamic

Pépière 2020 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Clisson Cru Communal

(Arrives June 13th) This sensational Cru Communal Clisson spent more than 2 years on the lees before bottling. Rémi Branger on the 2020 vintage "We harvested the 2020s very early, beginning on August 24th, it was a precocious vintage. Maturities advanced quickly but we were able to keep good freshness and some nice bitter notes that were missing a bit in 2018 and 2019." The 2020 Clisson, tasted last month in the Loire, is a great success featuring classic, vibrant aromas of almond, pear, citrus and stone, with a dense very mineral palate with subtle white fruits and a long bright stony finish. This will provide superb early drinking, especially with shellfish and baked cod or sole, but please put some away as 10 to 20 years of cellaring will create something special. David Lillie

  • white
  • 24 in stock
  • $31.99

  • Organic
  • Biodynamic

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

  • white
  • 17 in stock
  • $33.99

  • Organic
  • Biodynamic
  • Low Sulfur
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Pépière 2022 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Briords Vieilles Vignes

(Arrives 7/13) 100% Melon de Bourgogne. Briords is a 3-hectare lieu-dit in the cru of Château Thébaud. These vines are the estate's oldest plot, planted from massale selection 60-70 years ago. The sandy clay soils are rich in granite de Thébaud, a type differing from granite de Clisson in in its higher feldspar and clay content; it is cooler, holds water well and ripens the fruit more slowly. The farming is certified-biodynamic and the vineyard work including harvest is manual. 2022 was  a vintage of heat and sunshine but with frost in the spring that lowered yields. Much needed light rains in August enabled the grapes to ripen properly, and an early harvest brought in perfectly ripe fruit with somewhat lower acidities than usual. The 2022 "Briords" showed beautifully last winter in Angers - wonderfully elegant and round with terrific density and length. - vivid aromas of dried pear, bitter lemon, anise and herbs with surprising hints of exotic fruit backed with earth and mineral notes. The aromatic ripeness is more restrained on the palate which shows beautifully supple and dense  pear and ripe apple fruit with adequate acidty, quite round and ripe, and finishing with nice grip and mineral flavors that linger on the palate. This is a beautiful "Briords," reminding me of 2009 - irresistible now and over the next 8 to 10 yeaars, but not for long-term aging. Of course serve with oysters and grilled fish, this full-bodied Briords wil also accompany lobster, scallops, chicken and white meats. Highly recommended! David Lillie

  • Out of Stock
  • white
  • 0 in stock
  • $24.99

  • Organic
  • Biodynamic