Muscadet Crus Communaux – INAO finally approve 4 new crus – Minister searches for their stylo....

Muscadet's pyramid

After some considerable delay the next four Muscadet Crus Communaux were finally agreed by the INAO on Wednesday 19th June 2019. They now need to be officially signed of by the relevant Franch minister. Hopefully she or he will soon the necessary pen and the process will soon be concluded. The four new crus are Goulaine, Château-Thébaud, Monnières Saint-Fiacre et Mouzillon-Tillières.

Work continues on three more crus: La Haye-Fouassière, Vallet et Champtoceaux. La Haye-Fouassière and Vallet like the other seven are in the Sèvre-et-Maine, while Champtoceaux is in Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire. The latest news is that Muscadet Côtes de Grandlieu is now getting into the starting blocks in a bid to become the 11th Muscadet Cru Communaux.

The advent of the four new crus should considerably augment the production, which is currently at around 6000 hls from 150 hectares of vines for the three existing crus – Clisson, Gorges and Le Pallet.  


Press release from the Vins de Nantes:

'L’Institut National des Appellations d’Origine (INAO) a validé, mercredi 19 juin,
la reconnaissance officielle de quatre nouveaux crus communaux du Muscadet : Goulaine, Château-Thébaud, Monnières Saint-Fiacre et Mouzillon-Tillières, affirmant un peu plus le caractère et la montée en gamme des vins du Muscadet. 

Clisson, Gorges et Le Pallet ont ouvert la voie du renouveau du Muscadet en 2011. Goulaine, Château-Thébaud, Monnières Saint-Fiacre et Mouzillon-Tillières viennent de rejoindre le cercle fermé et sélectif des crus communaux du Muscadet. Désormais, ces sept dénominations géographiques complémentaires représentent le haut-de-gamme du vignoble de Nantes. Tous situés dans le secteur du Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, ils offrent une complexité et une aptitude au vieillissement qui en font des vins pour la gastronomie. 

La richesse et la complexité de ces vins issus du Melon de Bourgogne, cépage unique au monde, étonnera au point de les hisser au rang des grands vins du Val de Loire.

La liste de ces crus communaux devrait s’allonger avec l’arrivée des trois prochaines dénominations de crus encore à l’étude : La Haye-Fouassière, Vallet et Champtoceaux ainsi qu’une démarche naissante sur les Cotes de Grandlieu. « Les crus du Muscadet, qui témoignent de la nouvelle segmentation de l’AOC, représentent pour la récolte 2018 autour de 150 ha pour près de 6000 hl. La plupart des cuvées sont valorisés entre 10 et 15 € majoritairement sur les circuits CHR, caviste et export » précise Olivier Martin, Porte-parole de la Fédération des Vins de Nantes.'

2009 stunning Muscadet Château-Thébaud from Lieubeau family

2009 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, Château-Thébaud

Château de l'Aulnaye, Famille Lieubeau

This is another excellent Muscadet from the Lieubeau family. The 2009 is intended as a precursor of the Château-Thebaud which should soon be one of several new crus communaux that await the swish of the French minister's pen.

Ths 2009 spends three years on its lees which gives this Muscadet unusual richness accentuated by 2009 being a hot and rich vintage. The 2009 has lovely opulence and is utterly delicious. Initially we had it as an apéro and then it went beautifully with grilled salmon steaks. Unfortunately the bottle disappeared all too quickly between the two of us!  

Tasted blind my guess is that few would pick this opulent and delicious wine as a Muscadet. These longer aged Muscadet's are adding a new expression to the wines of the Pays Nantais. Furthermore they are still a remarkable bargain.  

Muscadet Cru – Champtoceaux?

The move to establish Muscadet crus communaux is now moving beyond the Sèvre-et-Maine zone to the much smaller Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire to get a Cru Champtoceaux eventually agreed by the INAO.

Loire: some bottles enjoyed sur place – March/April 2012

2002 demi-sec Le Haut-Lieu, Domaine Huet

 Wonderfully well balanced vintage, some evolution, delicate sweetness matched by precise acidity 

Some bottles drunk and enjoyed during our three week stay in Touraine from mid-March to early April. 

2004 Sancerre Rouge, Domaine Vacheron 

 2004 was not the easiest of vintages – some attractive fruit but toughish tannins from a time the domaine used more wood for their reds than they do now. Admittedly a different vintage but the emphasis in their 2010 Sancerre, drunk at the La Tour restaurant in Sancerre, is much more on the fruit.     

2005 Éclipse, Saint Nicola-de-Bourgueil, Frédéric Mabileau 

A couple of 2005 reds – one from Frédéric Mabileau and the other from Château Pierre-Bise. Both showing well with the potential to age further. The Pierre-Bise is the more ready to drink as Frédéric's Éclipse really needs more time.      

2005 Gorges, Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, Auguste Bonhomme

2005 Gorges, Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, Martin-Luneau

2009 Jubiliation Le Pallet, Vignerons du Pallet

We tried another three examples of new Muscadet crus communaux with two from Gorges and one from Le Pallet. Of the three Le Pallet was the least complex. Dangerous, I know, to draw any conclusions from just one bottle but I wonder whether the slightly shorter minimum aging on the lees for the wines from Le Pallet – 17 months compared to 24 for Clisson and Gorges – plays any part here.  Of the two 2005s from Gorges the Auguste Bonhomme was especially fine. Once again you have to forgot your traditional ideas of Muscadet and be prepared for a much fuller and more complex wine that will show best with more elaborate fish dishes than customary fruits de mers or moules marinières. 

2005 La Moussière, Sancerre Blanc, Alphonse Mellot

Les Alphonses 'basic' Sancerre is developing nicely and was served at a dinner with friends with a small selection of cheese including some local goat.

2006 Côt, AC Touraine, Clos Roche Blanche

Rich, delicious black fruits showing that Côt (Malbec and Auxerrois as in Cahors are synonyms) is probably the best red variety in the Cher Valley. As far as I can make out it will still be possible to sell 100% Côt under the insane new Touraine AC rules fashioned by bureaucracy and probably marketing conditions, while ignoring tradition, true 'typicity' and terroir in its widest sense. 

Sadly this next wine will be outlawed under the new AC Touraine Fou régime: 

    

2008 Cuvée de Fié Gris, Vieille Vigne, AC Touraine, Domaine Jacky Preys

Still quite difficult to find, Sauvignon Gris is often more interesting and complex than its more assertive cousin – Sauvignon Blanc. Jacky Preys has long made an excellent Fié Gris and has been instrumental in its revivial. The 2008 was a lovely bottle with weight, spice, delicacy with some floral notes, too, and more complex than many Touraine Sauvignons. Under the new Touraine regulations Sauvignon Gris can only make up 20% of the blend for AC Touraine Blanc. I hope the Preys family will continue to make this and sell it as a vin de pays or as a Vin de France. My guess is that they have built a sufficient reputation for this wine not to need the new fatally flawed Appellation Touraine Contrôlée label.

2009 petites grappes sur Basalte, Côtes d'Auvergne, Caves de Verny

2011 Enjoy, Côtes d'Auvergne Rosé 

Two impressive wines from the Caves de Verny, a cave co-operative at Veyre Monton in the Côtes d’Auvergne, kindly given to me to try by Fabrice Dagaut at the excellent Bon Laboureur hotel restaurant in Chenonceaux. Fabrice has recently started to list these wines.  2011 Enjoy (a blend of Gamay and Pinot Noir) is an ideal pale rosé for a summer apéritif – red fruits and a fresh clean finish, while the Basalte is a concentrated Gamay coming from low yielding vines – only 25 hl/ha. It will surprise people used to drinking (or avoiding) dilute Gamays that often give this variety a poor reputation.

    

2011 Les marcottes, Gamay AC Touraine, Lionel Gosseaume

Another example of a delicious Gamay, this time from Touraine in the commune of Choussy, just to the west of Oisly and made by Lionel Gosseaume. Not a wine to analyse rather one to enjoy with friends. I hope Lionel hasn't been too badly hit by the frost in mid-April.  

 2010 Pinot Noir Marigny-Neuf, Ampelidae, Frédéric Brochet

2010 Sauvignon, Marigny-Neuf, Ampelidae, Frédéric Brochet

Two wines (samples) from Frédéric Brochet's Ampelidae: both from 2010 – a Pinot Noir and a Sauvignon Blanc. The Pinot Noir is exuberantly juicy in a modern style made to drink young, while the Sauvignon is more restrained and more classic.    

Cuvée JM Monmousseau, Touraine

Ackerman bought the Touraine sparkling wine producer, Monmousseau, in the autumn of 2010. Cuvée JM (sample) is a creamy, pure Chenin aged for between 24 and 36 months in the cellars on the eastern side of Montrichard. Available direct on-line for customers in France for 45€ for six bottles. 

2009 Vent d'Anges, Pouilly-Fumé, Régis Minet

An impressively fine Pouilly-Fumé from Régis Minet with lovely racy, minerality. Added to the list of producers that I need to visit. Profile by Kermit Lynch here.   

   

Decanter World Wine Awards 2012: First day on Loire panel

Sarah Kemp, Decanter's publishing director (centre by window), briefs judges@the start of the judging week

Today in footballing parlance was a game of two halves: in the morning we tackled a range of decidedly uninspired Sauvignon Blancs and then in the afternoon it was Melon de Bourgogne with lots of good wines.

Yves Desmaris MS

On the first day panel were Chris Kissack (The Wine Doctor and well established panel member) plus new members Yves Desmaris MS and Ken Mackay MW.   

The Sauvignon Blancs in our morning session were a mix of vin de pays, Touraine, Quincy, Reuilly, Coteaux du Giennois and Menetou-Salon. Sadly, with the exception of a very good 2010 Menetou-Salon that gained a silver medal, they were hard work with many of the 2011s disappointing.

Chris Kissack

Having tasted together a very poor range of 2011 Muscadets in London back in January Chris and I rather feared the worst. We were in for a very pleasant surprise, especially as this year for the first time since the DWWA was launched in 2004 we had a really sizeable entry from the Pays Nantais. The overall quality was far higher than the Sauvignons we tasted in the morning, although to be fair we still have Sancerre and Pouilly to come. A good number of the wines were 2011 – a far from easy vintage in Muscadet – plus some 2010s a 2009 and a fine 2007. We were able to give a good range of Bronze Medals, a number Commended and, best of all, a Silver Medal to a 2007, which I suspect was one of the new crus communaux. Decidedly good news and a reminder that if you haven't tried Muscadet for a while the quality has improved very significantly and good wines can be had for very reasonable prices. 

Ken Mackay MW

The one significant downside was the number of corked bottles, especially in the afternoon session. On two occasions we called for two replacement bottles and both were also corked. I didn't count the number of corked bottles today but it must have certainly been between 10%-15%. Why producers continue to insist on putting a delicate white like Muscadet under cork rather than screwcap is beyond me!

'This blogger' – the regional chair   

See Chris Kissack's take on his Wine Doctor blog.

        

Duo of crus communaux + Finkus Bripp interviews 'This blogger'

Finkus Bripp: "Can anyone tell me why I've got a camera growing out of

my ear and a shade attached to my cap? I thought I did the off-beat stuff!"

Plenty of entertaining this weekend that gave me the opportunity to try out some more of the Muscadet crus communaux and to gauge people's reactions to them.

First on Saturday evening we had friends over for dinner. The willingness of our recently opened fishmongers and butchers – Billings – to take orders prompted me to opt for a first course of mulet aux olives et au vin blanc (grey mullet with olives and white wine) served cold. This simple recipe comes from Elizabeth David's French Provincial Cooking and used to be one of my regular dishes in the days when Richards, a fine fishmonger in Brewer Street in the heart of London's Soho still existed. Sadly this shop along with others like Hamburger (also on Brewer Street specialising in a variety of smoked fish) and Gomez Ortega (a wonderful Spanish grocers on nearby Old Compton Street) have long gone. Grey mullet came hard to find. The dish is very easy to make but served cold and decorated with thin slices of lime and lemon can look pretty impressive. As an experiment we offered the option of some Polish horseradish sauce bought from Topolski in Druid Street. It worked well.

2006 Monnières Saint-Fiacre, Muscadet Sèvre et Maine

With the mullet we drank the 2006 Monnières Saint-Fiacre, Muscadet Sèvre et Maine from Véronique Gunther-Chereau at Château du Coing. The Monnières' quite opulent and rich fruit matched the meaty flesh of the mullet and with enough acidity to freshen the palate. Our friends were surprised to discover a Muscadet in this style and of such quality.

Finkus Bripp

Then yesterday lunchtime Finkus Bripp (wine on the rocks) made his way down from Hendon to South London to interview 'this blogger'. Finkus is normally based in Munich but is over in the UK for a few days. He continues to be a busy boy having recently launched his own 'pointless' wine shop and making a wine in Portugal's Douro Valley.

Miolo Brut, Franciacorta, Villa Crespia

In preparation for the rigours of the 'on the rocks' interview we had a glass of the full textured Miolo Brut, Franciacorta from Villa Crespia with its toasty and honeyed notes balanced by good, ripe acidity. Sadly this was the last of our half bottles that we brought back from our October visit to Franciacorta for the European Wine Bloggers Conference. These halves have proved to be a very useful and practical size providing an evening apéro for two or even a glass each for three people.

Then over a light lunch – baked omelette with bacon, potato and cheese and salad – we tried another Muscadet from Véronique Gunther-Chereau – the 2005 Château de la Gravelle from Gorges. This proved to be more mineral than the 2006, which was somewhat of a surprise for the vintage but may instead be a reflection of the terroir of Gorges. The Gravelle, however, did have enough buttery weight to partner the omelette.

Finkus prepares to interview 'this blogger'

Lunch over it was onto a wide-ranging interview with Finkus (shot using a Canon EOS 7 with a 16-35 L lens) – to be released at some date in the future.

The trademark Bripp cap – 'the Bripp effect'

Muscadet Crus Communaux: a trio tried

2006 Clisson, Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine, Stéphane and Vincent Perraud

Over the past couple of nights we have been trying some more of the Muscadet crus communaux. This time a trio – two from Clisson and one from Le Pallet. Once again we tasted them on their own and then tried them with food. This trio provided further evidence that these are wines best served with food, which tends to accentuate their complexity and bring out their minerality and acidity. Tasted alone the minerality tends to be hidden by the richness.

2005 Clisson, Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine, Christian Pineau

We tried the two Clissons served with plainly grilled fillets of sea bass and much preferred the 2006 which showed greater complexity and balance both by itself and with the fish. The 2006 Clisson from Stéphane and Vincent Perraud had good weight, attractive texture and is long and well balanced. In contrast the 2005 from Christian Pineau, although rich with a hint of honey and was rather ungainly. This may be a reflection of the vintage for although 2005 is a fine vintage for reds, the whites often lack the vivacity and finesse found in cooler vintages.

2003 Le Saphir, Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine, Frères Futeul

I had anticipated that coming from the heatwave vintage the 2003 Saphir might be too rich for its own good. This, however, was not at all the case as its ripe fruit was balanced by a freshness in the finish. We tried this with a guinea fowl cooked in a Norman style – pot-roasted with apples and cream and finished with a good slug of Calvados and some more cream. Certainly a challenge for most Muscadets! However, Le Saphir worked well with the dish for although the wine's weight was a little subdued by the apple and cream sauce this was made up by the increased minerality and acidity that cut the Norman richness.

We also tried the remains of the 2006 Clisson with the guinea fowl and again the wine stood up well.

Some of the bottles being used for the crus communaux are quite heavy. Although I understand that the Muscadet producers want to make a statement about the quality of these wines, heavy bottles now get a bad press over increasing the carbon footprint. It would be a pity if the quality of these crus communaux get overlooked through criticism of the weight of the bottles used.

Les Grands Vins de Muscadet: les crus communaux

2007 Jubilation Le Pallet, Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, Les Vignerons du Pallet

The new crus communaux are a further indication that Muscadet can be a grand vin and not just a glass of something crisp and refreshing for shellfish.

Back in July last year the INAO recognised the first three Muscadet crus communaux: Le Pallet, Clisson et Gorges. Other communes are expected to follow. These cru wines are made under stricter rules than those for 'straight' Muscadet – yields limited to 45/hl/ha compared to 55hl/ha for ACs Muscadet: Sèvre et Maine, Côtes de Grandlieu and Coteaux de la Loire. The grapes have to be riper – minimum of 11% and the time sur lie is longer – 17 months for Le Pallet and 24 months for Clisson and Gorges. Due to the vagaries of the sur lie regulations these crus communaux cannot put sur lie on their labels as the current rules dictate that a sur lie must be bottled by 30th November of the year following the vintage. So 2010 sur lie had to be bottled by 30th November 2011. This seems remarkably foolish – hopefully the regulations will be amended to allow these new crus communaux to claim sur lie on their labels.

On Thursday I received four of these crus communaux to try – one from Le Pallet (the t is silent in Pallet but sounded in nearby Vallet), one from Gorges and two from Clisson.

2005 Gorges, Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, Damien Rineau

On Friday we tried the 2007 Jubilation (Le Pallet) and the 2005 Gorges from Daniel Rineau tasting them and then trying them with grilled prawns followed by a grilled sea bass from Billings, our local fishmonger/butcher. Both are good wines and very different from a traditional Muscadet being richer with more body and much less lemony – more reminiscent of a coolish climate Chardonnay or perhaps an Alsace. The bottle is different too – Burgundian in style (see below).

The lightly golden 2007 Le Pallet is slightly richer than the 2005, which is a bit of a surprise given the differences between the two vintages, and the more complex. Whereas the 2005 Gorges is a little less rich in colour but has a more mineral character. Both worked well with the prawns and sea bass. Interestingly with food the two wines showed more acidity than when tasted on their own. Ready to enjoy now they can certainly be kept.

Burgundian style bottle: 2005 Gorges, Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, Damien Rineau

Back label of the 2007 Jubilation

Apart from sensibly recommending that Jubilation should be served between 10˚-12˚, so not ferociously chilled which will kill the complexity, this back label is rather a wasted opportunity as Les Vignerons du Pallet don't take the opportunity to say anything about this wine and how it is different from a traditional Muscadet.

The production of these crus communaux is small and likely to remain that way. Most retail for between 10€ to 15€ and offer a very good deal for the quality.