The Chambers Street Wines Muscadet Awards are here!
12/14/2007 -
The first award goes to the best Old Vintage Muscadet and that has to be the 1989 Luneau-Papin "L" d'Or. "L" d'Or is easily the most ageworthy cuvèe from Pierre Luneau. As he always has a nice stash of older wine there is always a re-release lurking around. The 1989 is drinking beautifully now. Big and fat, like this cuvèe always is with lovely mineral notes married with intense citricity and floral aromas. Still a bit reserved but no crime to drink today but will surely benefit from 5-10 more years in the cellar. Only 3 cases were available, which quickly sold out, so why not try the next best thing, the beautiful 1995.
The next award goes to the best Extended lees aged Muscadet and that easily goes to Marc Ollivier's 2005 "Granite de Clisson." We offered these out earlier this year and it was a rousing success. Here is the story - - - A dozen growers in the Muscadet who have vines on the granit of the Massive Armoricain have created the Granite de Clisson label to create a "Grand Cru" of Muscadet. This is Marc Ollivier's first release from this group, which comes from a 1.2 hectare (2 acre) parcel of vines 60 to 90 years old at the Domaine Pépière. The grapes were hand-harvested, (as always for Marc) and fermented with wild yeasts; the wine was aged on the lees for 24 months. The wine is currently quite austere, with subtle hints of exotic fruits, fennel and flowers, the palate is mineral, almost salty, and quite intense. Drink now with a grilled sole or wait a few months for it to open up, after which it should develop nicely for another 15 to 20 years. We also have this available in magnums and three liters.
The next award goes the best Value Muscadet and that goes to the 2005 Luneau-Papin "Clos des Alles." Maybe the best white QPR on the whole planet. Not even in the teens.Lovely crunchy lime and lemon fruit with zesty minerality and great concentration. A lovely wine that never gets tired and has mucho appeal from the cerebral to the pleasure-seekers.
The next award goes to the best 2004 Muscadet. I chose this vintage because it is right up there with 2002 as one of the top Muscadet vintages of the last 15-20 years. Just a classic expression of intense bright and vivid minerality along with a tremendous acid spice are the hallmarks of this vintage. This was a dead heat between the great Jo Landron (Domaine Louvetrie) 2004 Fief du Breil and the 2004 Luneau-Papin "L" d'Or which are both shockingly good bottles of Muscadet. It is so good it almost reminds me of Riesling. Great texture that is soft yet assertive and extremely impressive concentration. Along with great legs for ageability. Buy them by the case! Absolutely astounding wines!
