Beyond Muscadet, 2026
In the final instalment of my 2026 Muscadet reports, as curious as it seems, we come now to the wines which are not actually Muscadet. This includes wines made in the Muscadet region using Folle Blanche (or Gros Plant if you are reading this in the 1970s) as well as a variety of white, orange, red and even sweet wines from this region (all in the Vin Mousseux, Vin de Pays and Vin de France categories), as well as a smattering of cuvées from the more southerly vineyard of the Fiefs-Vendéens.
Unlike my Muscadet 2026 and Muscadet Cru Communal 2026 reports, this report comes free of introductory quotes from Colombian novelists and French wine professionals. I thought you deserved a break from tortured literary references and antediluvian wine opinion. Instead, I will launch straight into an account of my most favoured wines from the 40-plus cuvées tasted and reported on here.
The Wines
If there is one domaine here that deserves more than a moment in the spotlight it is Domaine Saint Nicolas, which is located in L’Île d’Olonne, a coastal hamlet 60 kilometres southwest of the Muscadet Sèvre et Maine vineyards best known for its salt marshes, the exploitation of which date back centuries. There was active harvesting of salt as long ago as the early Middle Ages, which was followed by the development of general agriculture and eventually viticulture. The vine certainly had a presence here as early as the 11th century. It was with the support of Cardinal Richelieu (1585 – 1642) that planting really exploded though, and by 1880 there were 18,000 hectares of vines planted.
Today, after phylloxera, there are perhaps just 400 hectares, tended by a handful of growers some of whom turn out wines of real interest. One among them is Thierry Michon (pictured below) who took over the running of this domaine, established by his father Patrice. Today Thierry is aided by his two sons, Antoine and Mickaël. The wines – which Thierry moved out of the rather meaningless Fiefs Vendéens appellation and into Vin de France a few years ago – are deliciously fascinating combinations of Ligérian and Burgundian fruit (Chenin Blanc dominates in white, Pinot Noir in red) with a breezy, saline, Atlantic influence.
