Re-birth of Muscadet

Muscadet bottles collection

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Dear wine lovers,

When a wine region loses popularity, this is the time for some wineries to reconsider the way they make their wines and eventually to improve the quality.

This has been the case with Muscadet* wines that had been mass-produced and eventually forgotten by wine lovers.

The Muscadet area is one of the oldest controlled French appellations (recognized in 1936). Its soil is mainly granite and the grape is called Melon. The Muscadet name comes from a village located within the production area.

Nowadays, a "modern" Muscadet is no longer the dry and acid wine that it used to be a decade ago. By modern, don't get me wrong, I don't want to say that the type of Muscadet I like is industrial. I actually mean that some vineyards have reverted to ancestral techniques, especially in maintaining, trimming the vines and leaving the wines on their lees as long as possible. Produced this way, the wines can be very delicate, fat and well-balanced by their legendary acidity. Aromas begin with citrus and evolve to bergamote anise and jasmine.

These wines are quite competetively well priced so don't hesitate to choose an Estate winery like Michel Bedouet, Château de l'Aiguillette, or Domaine du Colombier and stay away from negociant wines.

**Try it with fresh goat cheese with oilve oil, lemon lime and some good bread. It will make a change from the traditional pairing with oysters and will definitely make you re-discover this beautiful wine**.

Cheers,

Jean-Marc Espinasse

Any comments, edits are very welcome at contact@french-wine-a-day.com

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A great book to tour Loire Valley and, at its western part, Muscadet :

*Listen to "Muscadet"

See Muscadet on a French wine map

**Essayez-le avec du fromage de chèvre frais accompagné d'huile d'olive, un zest de citron et du bon pain. Cela vous changera de la traditionnelle association avec les huitres et vous fera certainement redécouvrir ce joli vin**.