What a pleasant wine this is, the magic of sur lie ageing on display. Racy in its outer display, its inner soul is the charming, elongated midpalate where beauty waits patiently, arrested and deliberate until the sharp, electric bite of acidity finally conquers at terminus. Shapely in the mouth with remarkable fruit power and length, the acidity seems less prominent than in most Muscadet giving the wine a relaxed demeanor, the intensity of its swollen current reigned in by that creamy midsection .
A nose of crisp lemon, a bit of ripe pear, salty sea breeze and some struck match rounds out the verdant architecture.
Joyous and tuneful, ebullience restrained, it dances in step with Joni Mitchell’s Help Me
Technical Notes: From 100 year old vines, aged 10 months on the lees and 2 years in the bottle. These vineyards are part of the new classification system in Nantes called Crus Communaux. Muscadet is neither the name of the grape (which is melon de bourgogne) nor the name of the region. The name refers to a quality the grapes are supposed to have—muskiness, which I have never encountered in a wine labelled Muscadet.
Score: 92
Price: $20
Alc: 12%
Exploring the Philosophy of Food and Wine 