Vineyard of Melon de Bourgogne in the Muscadet Pays Nantes region of the Loire Valley Photo by Jameson Fink
This week we continue our series on lesser known white wine varieties with a french wine called Muscadet. The name of this wine is rather confusing; not named for the region it hails from (Pays de la Loire) or the grape used (Melon de Bourgogne). Some believe the name originates from people believing the wine had a “musky” aroma but that is also confusing since the flavors of this wine are subtle and anything but musky.
In this week’s episode we discuss:
- Melon de Bourgogne the grape. Where did it come from and how did it end up in Loire?
- The sub-region Muscadet-Sèvre et Maine
- Muscadet has different rules than other French AOCs
- Sur Lie winemaking technique
- Flavor Characteristics and food pairings
This week’s wine recommendations
Wine Recommendations
L’Oiseau d’Or Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine Sur Lie 2013 – priced around $15. Thanks to south facing hills the grapes get plenty of sun for ripening and drainage in this damp climate. Makes for a wine with aromas of apricot, pear and white flowers. You can definitely taste the age on this wine – the acid is more mellow than other Muscadets we had, it allows for enjoying on it’s own or with food. This wine is rounder, less intense with no single flavor dominating with flavors of pear, apple, wet rock, lime, light white flowers and a touch salinity.
Check out the importer’s website for more information and where to purchase.
Saget Père et Fils 2015 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine- priced around $12. This is a Total Wine Winery Direct selection. It has aromas of wet rock, minerality, pear, and white flowers. This wine is super interesting with a strong salinity flavor as well as lime and a hint of stone fruit. It has high acidity so maybe not the best wine on it’s own for some people but we paired with crispy black bean tacos with a lime slaw and it was magical!!
Here is the link to purchase this wine
Here is the crisp black bean vegetarian tacos recipe from Oh Sweet Basil
Sources:
- Wikipedia
- Wine Folly
- The Wine Bible
- Oxford Companion to Wine
- Wine For Normal People