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The Kings of Muscadet
What retribution from the Ligérian gods of wine (surely there are such deities in existence?) would I suffer if I attended the 2011 Renaissance tasting in Angers while I still possessed, secreted on the depths of a hard drive somewhere, a host of unpublished notes penned during my two days there during 2010? Would these notes return to haunt my dreams, the labels marching past in rank and file, Alice in Wonderland style, while I quietly drown somewhere nearby in a vat of bubbling Muscadet? Or would I merely be struck down by some terrible plague, sent down from above by the god of biodynamics. Such as what? A really nasty case of oidium, perhaps?
With the weight of these terrible afflictions weighing on my mind I had better get on with bringing these notes out into the light of day. One of my aims for the year (you might want to take this with a pinch of salt - these plans don't always come to full fruition in the way I would like) during 2011 is to overhaul at least some of my Loire wine guide, and indeed I have already started with January's overhaul of my Muscadet guide. And so with that completed update still fresh in my mind I thought I should tackle two of the more regal vignerons of the Nantais first, Guy Bossard (of Domaine de l'Ecu) and Jo Landron (of Domaine de la Louvetrie).
First up, Guy Bossard, in fact my very first port of call at the tasting if I recall correctly. At the time Guy Bossard's domaine had been on the market for about a year, and there appeared to be no buyer on the horizon. Not quite a year on from that moment and as yet still no word, so it seems as though I will be tasting his 2010s before long. And I came away from this brief tasting of his four wines from the 2009 vintage wondering whether there might be some interplay between the purgatory of working a domaine that festers unsold on the market, no doubt a reflection of the trouble Muscadet finds itself in these days, and the quality of the wines. As I reported in my updated guide to Muscadet, in the few weeks that followed the 2010 harvest more than 80 vignerons declared themselves bankrupt. This is a region and an appellation in crisis. Who is going to buy into this as a livelihood right now? Nobody it seems, for the moment at least. And does this uncertainty translate through into the wines? I did wonder if that might be the case, as I came away slightly perplexed; the quality was good, the wines showing good minerality as we should expect from Bossard. But in every case - the newly christened Boss'Art and the Expression de Gneiss, Orthogneiss and Granite cuvées - I found myself asking where was the vibrancy I expected from Bossard? Where was the vivacity? Where was the mouth-tingling structure that I found in the 2008s?
Whatever was going on, despite the favourable vintage conditions these wines didn't show the high level of quality I expected to find on the day. They are still very good wines, but within the context of the domaine, the vigneron and the vintage they are not what I anticipated. And moving onto the wines of Jo Landron immediately afterwards only confirmed this impression, as he had on show a range of wines mostly from the same vintage which were vibrantly convincing. His Amphibolite Nature, a favourite easy-early drinker as tends to be the case with amphibolite cuvées, showed more life and vigour than the grander gneiss, orthogneiss and granite cuvées I had just tasted, and moving on to his Hermine d'Or and Fief du Breil bottlings (although the latter was a different vintage, so the comparison is not really appropriate) only served to underline this point. All were delicious, intense and full of grip. Perhaps, given time, the richer and slightly softer Bossard wines will tighten up into this more vibrant, defined style. I hope so. (27/1/11)
Loire 2005 - Tasting Notes
These wines were tasted in January 2010. Click 
to locate stockists.
Domaine de l'Ecu Cuvée Boss'Art 2009:
This is the new name for Bossard's Cuvée Classique, and it comes complete with a
new label. It has a fresh and fairly lovely nose, but the palate that follows
seems rather straightforward, quite soft and clean, with rather a muted acidity.
Overall it seems one-dimensional and it is lacking weight. A strange
disappointment. 13.5-14.5/20
Domaine de l'Ecu Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Expression de Gneiss 2009:
This is open and certainly more expressive then the Boss'Art, with an attractive
and very welcome mineral vein. A more appealing weight here, in fact it has
rather a plump feel to it on the palate, with only moderate acidity, and quite a
sappy finish. This wine doesn't seem to be showing the vibrancy I am looking for
in Muscadet. 15-15.5/20
Domaine de l'Ecu Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Expression de Orthogneiss
2009: This is certainly more minerally in style than the softer Gneiss, and
it gives a rather volcanic, schisty feel to it (yes I know orthogneiss isn't
schist!). On the palate it seems more vibrant, more expressive, better defined,
with good flesh and broader fruit. And there is a more appealing core of acid
here too. Even so, this is not up to the level I would expect from Guy Bossard.
15.5-16/20
Domaine de l'Ecu Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Expression de Granite 2009:
Even though Bossard has a well-established low-sulphur regime, it seems to be
marking the nose here at present. Nevertheless the palate is very appealing,
showing a balanced structure against a fleshy but defined substance. A nice
weight, and a good acid core. Good, but this is not at the level of the rather
more vivacious 2008 I feel. Like all the Bossard wines shown here today, this
seems a little difficult to judge at present. 15.5-16.5/20
Domaine de la Louvetrie Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Amphibolite Nature
2009: Now here is an appealing nose, showing a lovely, volcanic,
struck-stone minerality, lightly fleshy, with herby rosemary notes laid over the
top. It has a good structure to it on the palate too. On top it seems a little
loose-knit and flimsy at present but there is promise here, and I suspect this
will come together with time. 16-16.5/20
Domaine de la Louvetrie Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur lie Hermine d'Or
2009: A fine and very expressive style here, with rich and fleshy white
fruit on the nose, along with great minerality too. The palate is very stylish,
fresh but also elegant and lithe, and seemingly very substantial too. Deep and
intense, grippy, quite broad, but well framed by acidity and in possession of an
appealing bitterness. Real appeal and also fine cellaring potential here.
17-17.5/20
Jo Landron Melonix (Vin de Table) NV:
A very natural approach here. Indigenous yeasts, no sulphur and bottled without
fining or filtration. The 'hands-off' approach also facilitates malolactic
fermentation. It has a very expressive nose, very floral and minerally too,
elegant but also open and accessible. The palate shows a very deep and sappy
character, with a floral expression like that on the nose, alongside a white
fruit character. A richly styled, no doubt the malolactic contributing something
here, with citrus fruit elements such as tangerine, and white grape. I like it!
17/20
Domaine de la Louvetrie Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur lie Le Fief du
Breil 2007: A fine and exotic nose to this wine, showing an intense
minerality with a very floral style again. The palate is sappy and shows some
good substance, and there is certainly some grip and structure evident too.
Nicely composed, with an elegant acid backbone, and it is quite long too. A
really good effort in this vintage. 17/20
