It was a good 2 hours drive to Nantes and then on to the appellation of Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine, but we agreed the journey was worth it. A whole new world of Muscadet wine was revealed to us over our two visits.
Our first visit was to Château du Coing, a very old estate (dating back to the 15th Century), owned and run by Véronique Günther-Chéreau and her daughter Aurore. Aurore explained the history of the estate, and their philosophy – about two thirds of their 75ha of vines are organically farmed or in conversion. Organic farming in this wet, Atlantic influenced, region is challenging, and with a warming climate every vintage brings new challenges. They have vineyards in various parts of Muscadet, and we learnt about the ‘Crus’ – seven villages that have their own AOCs, and require wines to spend longer on their lees than the the broader Muscadet ‘Sur Lie’ appellation. Equally importantly they have distinctive terroirs, with different underlying bedrocks and soil types
In the vineyard Chloë showed us the vines which were just beginning to flower. They looked wonderfully healthy and verdant, as did the prolific undergrowth – which will be cut back on a rotation. We spent some time in the winery where the wines undergoing ‘sur lie’ are kept in underground tanks (dug out of granite) lined with glass.
In the old cellars we had a tasting of their range, starting with a basic Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie, and progressing through three of the Crus: Château Thébaud, La Haye-Foussière and Monnières Saint-Fiacre, each of which had very distinctive flavours and texture and were all delicious (and very gastronomic). We completed the tasting with a delicately flavourd traditional method sparkling ‘Perle Fines’, a great way to toast a good start to the day.
We took lunch at La Gallotière, in the village of Château Thébaud, three courses of beautifully presented dishes – a crab starter, pork main and raspberry pudding, with of course Muscadet for our white wine and a local IGP wine a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
Our second visit was to Jérémie Huchet, another family owned business, albeit not quite so historic. At the modern winery Jérémie greeted us and talked about the region, and his family’s involvement in the wine business – his grandfather and great grandfather grew grapes, his father Yves started to make wine and explore the impact of different terroirs – long before the creation of the Crus. They now have 65ha of vines, which they farm organically.
Jérémie explained the key influences on his wines: the Melon grape, which is fairly neutral in character, allows individual terroirs to become very clear; the terroirs themselves which reflect different elements of the igneous and metamorphic geology; and the influence of lees ageing. The top wines (which are made from hand harvested grapes) are fermented by naturally occurring yeasts, adding more to the individual character of the Cru wines.
In the winery we again saw the underground tanks, though they also have plenty of stainless steel for wines that do not age for such long periods. In addition to Melon they also grow Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris and Pinot Noir, and make a range of wines to suit different parts of the market. We learnt that changing weather not only impacts grape ripeness but also acidity – due to a phenomenally hot couple of weeks in September last year, acidity dropped so much that some wines underwent malolactic conversion (where malic acid is converted to softer lactic acid) immediately after fermentation, usually something that is prevented by cooling the wine down. The resulting wine will be softer and more rounded than the super crispness we associate with Muscadet – but Jérémie was happy he would be able to make good use of it!
We tasted their basic Chapeau Melon (means bowler hat in France!) Blanc, a blend of Melon and Sauvignon Blanc. Then to the serious stuff, the Chemin des Prieurs and Montys le Parc were not Cru wines, but were made from specific parcels and showed great contrasts of fruitiness versus minerality. The Château Thébaud 2019, which had spent 52 months on lees was very minerally in character, but with a super rich texture – summing up what we had learnt about the diversity and quality of this region in a great day of visits and tastings.
