Magic in Muscadet: 20 Crus Communaux wines to try

At the western edge of France, the vineyards of Muscadet cloak a verdant landscape of wandering cattle, low farm buildings and gentle slopes that descend to the cool and shady Loire tributaries of the Sèvre Nantaise and the Maine.

This is one of the oldest appellations in France, and it feels as if little has changed here in decades, if not centuries. But a gradual revolution has been taking place.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores of 20 spectacular Muscadet Crus Communaux wines

Growers with an eye to quality have quietly been working to obtain cru recognition for their top cuvées. These are wines grown in specific sites and aged for years in cool, underground vats.

The journey to achieving cru status has been long – and isn’t over yet – but it is proving to be worth the wait.

Muscadet, a wine historically known more for its ubiquity than its quality, has been reimagined as a modern classic. The cru wines are vibrant and food-friendly, low in alcohol, subtly complex and capable of effortless ageing. Fashioned from traditional winemaking techniques – and a lot of patience – this is the new Muscadet, and it’s bang up to date.

Muscadet is the largest appellation in the Loire valley and, for the most part, it’s always been a straightforward one: there is a single grape variety and a single style of wine, often aged over the winter on lees (‘sur lie’) before its release (see Muscadet – Vins de Nantes).

The light, dry, citrussy white reflects the irregular, cool weather of the vineyards’ location close to France’s northwest Atlantic coast.

A popular match for local seafood, due to its fresh, saline drinkability and inexpensive price tag, it is the product of a grape that is the unique signature of the region: Melon B (see box below).

Melon B

The grape you really, really want…

There aren’t many places in the world that can claim a grape variety that is truly its own, but Muscadet is one of them.

The grape may have originally been brought from Burgundy, hence the historic name Melon de Bourgogne, but as readily as it was rejected by the Burgundians it was embraced by growers in the cooler vineyards around Nantes thanks to its valued resistance to winter chill.

There are tiny pockets of the grape grown in cool locations in the US and Canada today, but otherwise Melon means Muscadet and Muscadet means Melon.

As an aside, the Burgundians are not happy with the use of the word ‘Bourgogne’ anywhere outside Burgundy, so even though Melon de Bourgogne is the historical and commonly used name of the grape, the official name is Melon B. Yes, it’s the Spice Girl grape. And in case you were wondering, the B stands for Blanc (definitely not Bourgogne).

The Melon grape has never been fashionable or popular elsewhere, but its relatively neutral character has its benefits. As François Robin of the Fédération des Vins de Nantes explains: ‘Because Melon is not aromatically expressive, it has a greater tendency to transmit terroir.’

Naturally, terroir expression has been a key element in defining the newest addition to the Muscadet appellation. Permitted yields are lower for the cru wines, and they must age on their lees for an extended period typically ranging from 18 months to two or three years. Robin says the crus have brought a renewed sense of pride to Muscadet producers: ‘Finally, we have confidence that we can make great wines with our own grape variety.’

Longer on lees

The cru initiative came from a handful of growers in the village of Gorges in the late 1990s. They decided to experiment by leaving their finished wines on lees for longer than the traditional sur lie period: years instead of months (see box).

Soon, growers in the neighbouring villages of Clisson and Le Pallet were experimenting in the same way. They discovered that the three different terrains produced superior and distinct styles of wine and set about obtaining official recognition for this new style of Muscadet.

Undaunted by the glacial pace of French wine legislation, the growers persisted and finally achieved cru recognition for each in 2011.

Meanwhile, momentum was building among other groups of growers. In 2019, a further four crus were recognised, namely Goulaine, Monnières-St Fiacre, Château-Thébaud and Mouzillon-Tillières. Soon, La Haye-Fouassière, Vallet and Champtoceaux will join the group to bring the total up to 10.

For readers looking to find these wines, it is useful to note that there is no mention of ‘sur lie’ on the labels, which regular buyers of Muscadet might find confusing, since these are wines that are clearly defined by the influence of long lees ageing. This is where you need to forget everything you thought you already knew about Muscadet, and instead marvel at the French administrative genius in coming up with new rules that make no sense when applied. The mention of sur lie as part of the appellation on a Muscadet label can only be used for wines that have aged on their lees for between five and 14 months (ie, the traditional Muscadet sur lie category, which remains unchanged).

Any wine that has spent longer than 14 months ageing on lees (meaning any cru wine) is actually prohibited from using the term sur lie. Crazy, but true – or, as one local winemaker succinctly put it: ‘C’est très français.’

Lees ageing: the key to quality in Muscadet

Lees are composed principally of dead yeast cells that sink to the bottom of the fermentation vessel once they have done their work in converting grape sugars to alcohol during winemaking.

Lees ageing is a valued winemaking technique, notably used in the context of barrel-fermented white Burgundy and Champagne. Leaving new wine in contact with its lees enhances richness of aroma and, especially, texture, which is often described as more rounded, mouthfilling, or mealy. When this ageing extends for several years, the lees begin to break down, leading to the yeasty complexity we associate most readily with Champagne.

During the ageing period, lees may be stirred into suspension periodically, a process known as batonnage. This can accentuate and accelerate the effects of the lees and use of the technique depends very much on the style a winemaker is seeking to achieve.

Wines with prolonged lees ageing have been shown to have higher levels of amino acids, something that has been linked with generating higher scores from critics. It is also suggested that the savoury, umami characters that come from lees ageing improve a wine’s suitability for drinking with a wide range of foods.

Lees ageing is one of the keys to quality in AP Muscadet, but knowing how long a wine has been on lees is not always apparent from the label. Here is what you need to know:

Muscadet The basic AP appellation – no requirement for lees ageing. These wines may contain a small percentage of Chardonnay (all other Muscadet APs are 100% Melon B).

Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Accounting for about two-thirds of Muscadet wine produced, the vineyards are situated between the Sèvre Nantaise and Maine tributaries. No requirement for lees ageing.

Muscadet Sèvre et Maine + sur lie The wine must have aged on lees for between five and 14 months (but no longer).

Muscadet Sèvre et Maine + the name of one of the crus Each cru has its own minimum ageing requirements, meaning these wines can spend anything from 18 months to several years resting on their lees before bottling. Confusingly, use of the term ‘sur lie’ is actually prohibited for wines aged longer than 14 months on lees.

The crus communaux Clisson, Gorges, Le Pallet, Goulaine, Monnières-St Fiacre, Château-Thébaud and Mouzillon-Tillières have all been approved and are usually seen on the front label. Three other crus are in-waiting: La Haye-Fouassière, Vallet and Champtoceaux. Regardless of their current unofficial status, these names are also often seen on the label, because these wines have been produced already for a number of years as part of the ongoing process of achieving the cru recognition.

Soil diversity

The Muscadet terrain is complex. Soils derive from an ancient bedrock formed by the breakdown of the enormous Hercynian mountain range that existed some 350 million years ago. Now known as the Massif Armoricain, it’s home to the oldest soils in the Loire valley, and Muscadet winemakers are proud of the rocks that lie beneath their vines: granite, gabbro, amphibolite, serpentinite, orthogneiss… These are not your run-of-the-mill vineyard soils: some are so rare they are found in almost no other vineyards.

Part of the lengthy process of defining the crus has been mapping these differences.

The Lieubeau family makes a range of cru wines from Clisson, Château-Thébaud and Goulaine. Brothers François and Vincent explain how the different terroirs affect the wines.

Clisson comprises granite bedrock with sand on top – a free-draining, warm soil that typically gives wines with slightly higher alcohol than the other crus. Winemaker Vincent describes Clisson as ‘the most approachable cru – fruity, sunny, spicy and bold’.

In comparison, Château-Thébaud vineyards are more varied in terms of soil composition, but all are on slopes and have thin topsoil. This means the vines are subject to more water stress. Vincent says these wines are ‘thinner, clearer, smoky, fresher and more mineral’.

Their third cru, Goulaine, is easy, rich and citrussy, and a little less acid-driven than the other two. Goulaine grapes come from a mild microclimate on a sandy hill surrounded by marshland. All of these wines are aged on lees for two to three years, and are a far cry from the everyday Muscadet to be gulped down with a plate of oysters.

Wines from the Gorges cru are known for being long-lived, austere and perhaps the most extreme of the crus in style, with razor-sharp acidity and precision. Asked how he would describe Gorges wines, Fred Lailler clenches his fist: ‘They should be like gunflint.’

Lailler, winemaker and owner of Domaine Brégeon, explains that the wines are born from a subsoil of gabbro, a dense, dark and impenetrable igneous rock. The topsoil, rich in clay, retains water easily, making this a much cooler growing environment for vines than next-door Clisson’s warm, sandy granite. The grapes ripen later and have less of the easygoing fruitiness that typifies Clisson wines.

Lailler’s approach to winemaking is strict. He aims for minimal intervention and tries to avoid excessive alcohol in his wines, shaking his head as he pours a 2018: ‘12.5% – it’s too much.’ Here, 12% is the norm. Lailler’s wines show concentration and balance, shining fruit and laser-bright, saline acid.

Varying techniques

Because historically Muscadet has only been left on its lees over the winter following harvest, there is ongoing speculation over what constitutes an ideal ageing period for the crus. ‘It’s new for us all,’ says Robin, ‘and we are still learning.’ But a few top producers have a longer history of making wines in this style.

At Luneau-Papin, for example, Marie Luneau explains that the ageing period for high-end cuvée Excelsior (in Goulaine) was reduced from 36 months to 24 in 2012.

Another who has been experimenting for longer than most is Muscadet veteran Jo Landron, in La Haye-Fouassière. He has been identifying and vinifying individual parcels for years, leaving the wines on lees for long periods. His top cuvée, Le Fief du Breil, is a fine example of the potential and longevity of these wines. The grapes grow in what is now the cru of La Haye-Fouassière. He currently favours increasing the length of lees ageing for his more recent vintages, explaining: ‘Lees have a physical action, softening bitter flavours, giving a rounder texture and revealing citrussy notes.’ But he adds that some crus are better suited to long lees ageing than others, depending on the soil type.

It is likely his Fief du Breil will be labelled as a cru in future, although one gets the impression that for Landron it is all rather academic. As he points out: ‘The individual lieu-dit sites were recognised long before anyone thought of having a cru system. I’ve been making wines like this for 30 years.’

Then there is the thorny question of what to do while the wine is ageing on its lees. While some winemakers (such as the Lieubeaus) stir the lees regularly, others prefer to leave well alone. Lailler reveals he never touches his wines during the lengthy maturation process, dismissing batonnage as ‘useless and violent’. This might be an extreme view, but certainly there are other winemakers, such as Jérémie Huchet, who are unconvinced that batonnage works for their terroir and style: ‘It erases the terroir,’ he says.

At Domaine Le Fay d’Homme, biodynamic winegrower Vincent Caillé takes a more measured approach, born perhaps of his 35 years’ experience. He varies the length of ageing and the amount of lees stirring according to the wine. He notes: ‘Batonnage accelerates the ageing process because it brings oxygen to the wine.’

After tasting a selection of site-specific, lees-aged Muscadet wines from vintages dating back to 2001, there is no question in my mind that, despite their apparent delicacy, these are wines with excellent potential to age. They retain their youthful freshness for far longer than one might imagine, gaining in complexity and interest for decades (if you can resist drinking them). Even better, many of the wines currently available to buy are already several years old, coming straight from the cool cellars of Muscadet.

See tasting notes and scores of 20 spectacular Muscadet Crus Communaux wines

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