Muscadet is definitely an underrated area of the Loire Valley, often overshadowed by prestigious neighbors such as Vouvray and Sancerre. Michel Brégeon's set out to change that and bring esteem to the wines of Pays Nantais by producing extremely long lived wines from the greatest terroirs in the appellations. His rare bottlings are widely considered by sommeliers to be the best examples of the region and are just as age worthy as other, more famous wines of the Loire. In case you're not familiar, Muscadet is a region adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean in the Western Loire Valley, known for making crisp whites, reminiscent of Chablis and Albarino from the Melon de Bourgogne grape. Michel Brégeon is a producer who is upping the ante on Muscadet, showing that these wines are not just designed to be simple and youthful, but can also be complex and ageworthy. Imported by Kermit Lynch for over 40 years, these wines have continuously outshone the rest as the best in their region,
The 2019 “Gorges” comes from a Cru vineyard in Muscadet Sevre-et-Maine that is known for being the most prized Cru in the appellation. The vineyard sits upon a unique metamorphic ocean bedrock known as gabbro that allows these wines to age and develop on par with the best whites of France. This wine defies attempts to pigeonhole the style, as it boasts incredible texture and tension thanks to the 70 plus year old vines planted on the decomposed blue-green igneous rocks underlying the vines and a whopping 28 months of time on the lees. If you have the self control to age this, you can expect it to develop a style similar to aged Chablis.
We also have the “La Molette” Muscadet-Sevre-et-Maine Clisson, which is pure, classic Muscadet from a small parcel of granite terroir in the Clisson cru. Expressive wet stone and saline qualities leap out of the glass and beg to be paired with oysters or a seafood tower. Like the Gorges, La Molette also spends extended time on the lees (27 months) to add deep complexity and to balance all the fresh ocean notes.
Muscadet is definitely an underrated area of the Loire Valley, overshadowed by prestigious neighbors such as Vouvray and Sancerre. But if you aren’t drinking Muscadet, you should be, especially this one; it is widely agreed upon by sommeliers to be the best example of Muscadet in the market. Muscadet is a region adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean in the Western Loire Valley, known for making crisp, refreshing whites, reminiscent of Chablis and Albarino. Michel Bregeon is a producer who is up-ing the ante on Muscadet, showing that these wines are not just designed to be simple and youthful, but can be complex and ageworthy. . The 2019 “Gorges” comes from a Cru vineyard in Muscadet Sevre-et-Maine, that is known for being the most prized Cru in the appellation. This wine defies attempts to pigeonwhole the style, this wine boasts incredible texture and tension, thanks to the seventy-year-old vines and the unique decomposed blue-green igneous rocks. If you have the self control to age this, you can expect it to develop a style similar to aged Chablis… but you know, for a better price point.
We also have the “La Molette” Muscadet-Sevre-et-Maine Clisson. This particular wine is pure classic Muscadet, with expressive wet stone and saline qualities that reminds one of a trip to the seashore and begs to be paired with oysters or a seafood tower. Besides, if Kermit Lynch, thinks these wines are worth bringing in for the last 43 years, its probably a wine worth gambling on.
