It's quite some time since I drank or even bought a bottle of Muscadet, that crisp, dry French white wine from the the region around the city of Nantes at the western end of the Loire Valley. This is a pity since it tends to be good value for money and by all accounts is now far better than the wine I remember from many years ago. I guess it has simply fallen down the popularity stakes on account of the sheer range of decent crisp whites that are now available. It's a relatively straightforward wine, bottled between March and November of the year following the vintage, with a particular selling point being its suitability for accompanying seafood, particularly shellfish and oysters.
The basic wine of the appellation Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine is usually labelled 'sur lie' to reflect the fact that it has been kept on the yeast deposits from fermentation (the lees) for a period of time to give the wine more depth and complexity of flavour. The cru communal initiative was the growers' plan to produce top-notch wines of the highest quality in the same way that grand cru wines in other regions of France are a distinct reflection of their specific location and terroir. In order gain approval from the national wine authorities stringent requirements are set in terms of specific geology and soil type, minimum age of vines, yield per hectare, and in this case a minimum ageing on the lees of 18-24 months. The first three Muscadet crus communaux appellations were approved in 2011 with four more following in 2019. There are currently ten Muscadet crus communaux in the Pays Nantais vineyard area.
As luck would have it though I was reacquainted with Muscadet a couple of weeks ago and came across a quite remarkable bottle that was far from straightforward and in a style that I never knew existed. This was a 'cru communal' Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, 'Vallet', from Chateau de Cléray. The clue here are the two words 'cru communal' which roughly translates as 'communal vintage', or sometimes 'village appellation'. It is a community effort drawing together the grapes and skills of a number of winemakers in a small geographic area to produce a wine notably superior to the basic appellation.
And so now to the particular bottle of Muscadet Sèvre et Maine 'cru communal' that so impressed me recently. Well, in reality it wasn't a bottle but merely a sample at a trade tasting event in London hosted by Les Grands Chais de France and showcasing their entire portfolio. (Don't ask me how I got in. That's a secret!)
As noted above, this is a cru communal wine from Vallet, the leading wine growing town in the area in terms of number of producers and area under vine. It's a collaboration between 25 growers all contributing with the very best grapes from their most prestigious sites. In this case it is aged on the lees for 18 months followed by a further two years in bottle. The result is a wine with all the acidity you are expecting with muscadet but weightier, richer and far more elegant. Definitely muscadet, but not as I remember it.
To my disappointment it doesn't seem to be readily available at the moment in the UK. However, assuming the website is up to date, I have eventually found it listed for £14.79 at Baythorne Wines Suffolk, but with the caveat "Hurry, there are only 6 items left".
Failing that, Jane McQuitty in The Times in October 2021 recommended another cru communal from The Wine Society - Le Los du Château Oiselinière, Chéreau-Carré 2015. It is still available to members for £13.50. McQuitty's assessment at the time was that these top of the range muscadets are excellent because "they cost half what you would splurge on a top-drawer chablis". I can settle with that.
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