Some 2022 and 2021 Muscadets and a 2020: Claude Branger, Les Caves de la Nantaise, Château de la Chevillardière/Claude-Michel Pichon, Domaine de la Fessardière, Luneau-Papin, Manoir de la Grelière/R. Branger & Fils, Jo Landron

 

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I’ve spent the past four days in Wiesbaden, Germany tasting German Grosses Gewächs wines. While I organize my notes to put here, I’ll put up some recent notes on Muscadet, a highly under-appreciated wine in my opinion.

2020 was a marvelous vintage for Muscadet, but the availability of those wines is now fading, and furthermore as you can see below for Landron’s Les Houx, I’ve not found all the wines of such high quality.

2021 has shown well in previous reviews of wines I’ve had and continues to do so here, but where I’ve had the chance to compare the same wines of 2021 and 2022, as here with a couple of producers, the 2022s showed even better. Moreover, due to severe frosts in 2021, there is very little wine from that vintage available. (Continue reading here.)

2020 and 2021 Loire Whites from Anjou, Savennières, and Muscadet -- Boudignon, Château de la Grange/Baudoin de Goulaine, Grelière/R. Branger, Landron, Pépière/Branger and Croix, Perrières, Petite Fessardière/Fessardière

 More brilliant wines from 2020 and some surprising 2021s from the Western Loire. (Continue reading here.)

2020 Muscadet Part I: Bonnet-Huteau, Branger/Manoir de la Grelière, Caves de la Nantaise, Chevillardière/Pichon, Petite Fessardière, Drouet, Landron

The hot 2018 and 2019 vintages were problematic for the Muscadet appellations, leading to many wines that were flabby and had tropical fruit instead of the typical crispness and sea salt austerity. Happily, 2020 appears to be an ideal for the wines. (Continue reading here.)

2017, 2018, 2019 White Loire Wines Part II: GANO/BOUCHER, GERMAIN, GRELIÈRE/BRANGER, HAUT BOURG, HUËT

(Continue reading here.)