Les Vignerons du Pallet
The creation of the first three Muscadet crus communaux in July 2011 was, I suspect, greeted by jubilation in some quarters of the region. It had been a long and drawn-out development process, and one led by interested growers – who would much rather be making and selling wine, of course – than the Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité. Exponents of Clisson, where the soils are largely granite, and Gorges, where gabbro dominates, could at last promote the unique benefits of the geology beneath their feet.
The relevant domaines, already well-known (to Muscadet fans at least), such as Domaine Brégeon in Gorges, and Domaine de la Pépière or Bruno Cormerais in Clisson, had new strings to their bows; these vignerons, by taking advantage of the new crus communaux regulations on vine age, yields, élevage and so on, had the potential to take Muscadet Sèvre et Maine to a new level of quality. The wines, with a greater expression of terroir, with more texture and complexity, all enhanced by a prolonged time sur lie, can be – certainly in the case of the two crus mentioned above – nothing short of exciting.
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