Domaine de la Pépière, 2022 Update
Having tasted and reported on the wines of Domaine de la Pépière every year since 2009, it was particularly disappointing to have this unbroken run of tasting notes and reports so abruptly terminated by the pandemic. This is my first full report on these wines since my visit to the domaine in December 2019, just a week or two before news broke about a new and concerning strain of coronavirus. Never mind; if this is the worst consequence of Covid-19 that I suffer, then I suppose I will have gotten off quite lightly compared to many.
Two years without tasting here meant it was even more enjoyable than usual catching up with Rémi Branger, who now runs the domaine with business partner Gwénaëlle Croix (who was nowhere to be seen on the day). I was able to check out the latest release of the traditional sur lie cuvées, as well as recent and forthcoming cru communal releases, including the 2019 Clisson.
The Domaine
I am tempted to write that Domaine de la Pépière needs no introduction, but I once received a metaphorical slap on the wrist from a self-appointed social media maven for doing so – apparently this alienates those who do need an introduction – so before I present my tasting notes, here goes with my Pépière potted summary (for a much fuller account, see my Domaine de la Pépière profile).
The domaine was established by Marc Ollivier, a local with wine connections – his cousin is Jean-Luc Ollivier – but who as a youngster had no strong interest in wine. The wine bug only bit long after he had left home to study in Nantes. After switching to viticulture and oenology studies he moved to Beaune, and after his time there he moved back to Muscadet country. He took on a small parcel of vines handed down through the family. What he built around them was an impressive domaine which he then converted to organics. His Clos des Briords cuvée, in more recent vintages just Briords, was one of the most ultra-reliable and exciting sur lie cuvées in existence, and his other wines weren’t half bad either; while I was never a fan of the Clos Cormerais, aged in chestnut barrels, the other Pépière cuvées could be stunning.
