In the 1980’s when I was working in London selling wine to hotels and restaurants, Muscadet was the Pinot Grigio of its time.
What I mean when I say that is that it was on EVERY wine list in town. It was the fresh, easy, light dry white wine that anyone could enjoy and offended noone. Unoaked and easy to drink and for the most part – cheap!
There were always higher quality Muscadets out there but for the most part, it was a fairly ordinary, reliable wine. I even had a Muscadet as part of my Diploma blind tasting exam in 1984!
Don’t confuse Muscadet with Muscat or Muscadine. This is not a sweet wine. Bone dry, the Muscadet (or Melon de Bourgogne) grape variety is primarily planted in the vineyards of the Nantais where it’s the biggest appellation producer of white wine in France.
Lots has been going in Muscadet in recent years and there are (always has been actually) some really fabulous wines around that are really worth looking out for.
There are several appellations that you might be familiar with:
Muscadet – the largest regional appellation
Muscadet de Sevre et Maine – 20 communes to the south-east of Nantes
Muscadet Cru Communaux – Muscadet sold with a village name attached (Le Pallet, Gorges, Chateau Thébaud, Clisson Goulaine, Monnières St Fiacre, Mouzillon Tillières, Vallet)
Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire – in the Ancenis region on both banks of the Loire upstream from Nantes
Muscadet Côtes de Grandlieu – 19 communes south-west of Nantes
You may see the words ‘sur lie’ on the label too as in Muscadet de Sevre et Maine sur Lie. What does that mean? Well it means that the wine has been aged on its yeast deposit. Wines with the mention spend a single winter on their yeasty deposit and are bottled between 1st March and 30th November the following year.
The village wines are often aged for much longer on their yeast deposit than this and so you may not see sur lie on the label but they may have spend a considerable time ageing before being bottled.
This area of the Loire has very different terroir to other areas. Wines are often named after a specific terroir so expect to see names like granite and gabbro, gneiss, orthogneiss and amphibolite on the bottle.
Muscadet is a great food wine and although the classic partner in the past was seafood or oysters, it goes a lot further than that. A prawn and pea risotto perhaps, mussels cooked with citrus and saffron, grilled sardines, shellfish with artichokes, smoked haddock tartare with coconut and lime.
Flavours are subtle and elegant. Notes of citrus, celery, fennel, flowers and herbs. The village wines can be kept for years and develop wonderful richness and complexity over time. A shock to many people who never thought that white wine like Muscadet could benefit from ageing.
It’s one of the Loire’s best kept secrets. Ask any sommelier and they’ll tell you what gems can be found lurking in the Loire near the beautiful city of Nantes.
