2019 Pierre Luneau-Papin Muscadet Sevre & Maine Tire Su

2019 Pierre Luneau-Papin Muscadet Sevre & Maine Tire Su

2019 Pierre Luneau-Papin Muscadet Sevre & Maine Tire Su; Loire, France

Melon de Bourgogne (known simply as Melon in the United States) is the white grape synonymous with the Muscadet appellation in the western Loire Valley.The variety has naturally high acidity, but often struggles to achieve good concentration of flavor. The best wines show apple and citrus flavors, with underlying mineral notes. A saltiness can sometimes identified in the wine, suggestive of the region’s maritime geography. Muscadet is the most famous varietal expression of Melon de Bourgogne, and the area around the port city of Nantes has been an important winegrowing area since antiquity.

Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maineis the best known of the Muscadet appellations of the Loire Valley’s Pays Nantais district, on the central western coast of France. The title covers exclusively white wines from vineyards southeast and east of the city of Nantes, around the Sèvre Nantaise river and its tributary, La Maine, at the western end of the Loire region.

Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine is made solely from Melon de Bourgogne, a grape variety brought to the western Loire from Burgundy, as the name suggests. The similarity between the name Muscadet and that of the Muscat variety is sometimes the cause of confusion. But a single taste of a crisp, dry Muscadet wine will confirm that it is definitely not made from Muscat, a notoriously aromatic (and often sweet) variety.