Jo Landron, 2014 Update
Following the trials of the 2011 vintage it has been a delight to see the vignerons of Muscadet bounce back with 2012, a vintage of beautiful vibrancy, and then 2013, not quite at the same level as 2012 but nevertheless still a vintage blessed with wines of character and interest. Neither of these more recent vintages have given the vignerons the sort of volumes they would really like to see though, with most having half the usual amount of wine to sell in 2012 (the top domaines, as far as I know, have long sold out of this vintage) and 2013 giving perhaps three-quarters of what they needed. In other words, even though the quality of the wines has been fine, it is still tough times in Muscadet. Nevertheless I am confident, this belief based on some understanding of the struggles many have faced to get where they are today, that the most dedicated vignerons will survive these leaner years. Jo Landron (pictured below), who overcame a number of hurdles when converting his domaine to organic viticulture, is one such vigneron.
The tasting on which I report here, which occurred with Jo Landron in February 2014, featured wines from all three of these vintages, as well as an interloper from 2010, another very good year that I would not shy away from. With the vintage being so important in determining the style in Muscadet in recent years, I have arranged my notes in vintage order, starting with 2013.
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