WTF is Muscadet? (Melon de Bourgogne, the Sur Lie method, batonnage, the ultimate fish wine, the best French white wine under $20?)

Show Notes

Episode 114: WTF is Muscadet?  00:00

Hello! And welcome to The Wine Pair Podcast. I’m Joe, your sommelier of reasonably priced wine, and this is my wife and my wine pairing partner in crime, Carmela. And we are The Wine Pair! 

Ok, a quick orientation for those of you who may be new to the podcast - in each episode we learn about, taste and give our honest review of three wines that are reasonably priced - meaning under $20 each -  and should be easy for you to find. And our podcast is made for people who want to learn more about wine, find new wines to enjoy, and just want someone to talk about wine in a fun way that regular people can understand. So, if that sounds like you, you are in the right place! And we are proud to say that we are recommended by the editors of Decanter Magazine who call us fun, irreverent, chatty, and entertaining

Well, Carmela, as you know, we are going to do a WTF episode today, and for those of you in listening land who have been listening to us for a while, you know that these episodes are all about trying new wine varietals or types that are new to us. Hence the phrase what the fuck is  . . . and in this case, Muscadet (Moose-Kah-Day). And that was true up to about 5 days ago. It just so happens, and this does not happen very often, that last Friday we went to your brother’s house for a little party celebrating their daughter coming back from a trip and they served a red wine and a white wine and the white wine was Muscadet (Moose-Kah-Day). And, so just days before doing this episode, we were exposed to this wine. What are the odds?!?

However, just because we drank it does not mean that we know anything about it. And, despite the fact that we liked the wine, having it just one time from one producer does not mean that we can truly judge whether or not varietal altogether.

So, today, we are really, really going to explore this wine and see what we think. 

Now, you may not be familiar with Muscadet, and there is a good reason for that. Although it is a wine that has been around for a long time, and was appreciated by the kings of France, by the 20th century, this wine got a reputation for being kind of boring and not all that special. So, there was a decent period of time where the wine was just not being imported as much, and people were not seeking it out.

I should also say that Muscadet should not be confused with Moscato or Muscat or Moscatel which are all wines that come from the Muscat grape and are generally, but not always sweet wines. And, just in case you were wondering what the difference is between Moscato or Muscat or Moscatel, those are just the names of the same wine in Italy (Moscato), France (Muscat) and Spain (Moscatel). For now, all you need to know is that Muscadet is not Muscat or Moscato or Moscatel. Good enough?

And, just an editorial comment, we love doing these WTF episodes, and we love hearing from you all out there, and we want to do content that you care about, so if there is a wine that you are curious about and want to learn more about, just let us know!

Now that we have that out of the way, we can get back to learning a bit about what Muscadet is, and then we have three different Muscadets to taste and review, all of which come, as they should, from France . . .

But first . . . we have to do our shameless plug.

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And, as we do every week, we’ll tell you someone we think you should tell about The Wine Pair Podcast. This week, we want you to tell anyone who loves fish and shellfish because this wine is sometimes called the ultimate seafood wine. And it is evidently a good pairing with tofu. So tell the tofu lover in your life, too!

ARTICLES and LINKS

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscadet
• https://www.decanter.com/learn/difference-muscat-moscatel-moscato-463852/ 

Topic: WTF is Muscadet? 06:43

So, let’s learn a bit more about just what the F Muscadet is. 

First, the grape that Muscadet is made from is called Melon de Bourgogne. And that may be a grape you are not familiar with either. Melon de Bourgogne is often just called Melon, and is mostly grown in France, specifically in the Loire Valley, although you can find it grown a bit in the US as well, mostly in Oregon and areas right here in Washington state. However, by law, the wine cannot be called Muscadet outside of France, so if it is made in the US, it will be called Melon. 

What is interesting is that the grape is grown and the wine is mostly made in the Loire valley, but the name Melon de Bourgogne does mean “melon from Burgundy.” So, what is that story all about?

First, Melon de Bourgogne was grown in Burgundy until the 1700’s when it was ordered to be destroyed, mostly because the royalty in France felt that the wine that was made from Melon in Burgundy was sub-par, especially compared to Chardonnay. 

In that same century, there was a massive frost in the Loire valley which ruined most of the vineyards, and so some monks from Burgundy brought clippings of Melon to Loire where it was planted and was able to handle the cooler weather. Or at least it may have been monks. Some sources I looked at said it was the Dutch who brought the grape to the Loire valley, and others say that King Louis the 14th ordered the grape to be planted there. Whatever the reason, Melon is grown in the Loire valley and into the wine Muscadet.

Muscadet is made from 100% Melon grapes, and is specifically from the area of Nantes in the Loire which is a very cool area near the Atlantic ocean. There are actually four main growing regions for Muscadet in the Loire, but we will not go into them because it would take a lot of time, but I have links to articles in the show notes on our website if you want to learn more. What you do need to know are a few things.

First, Muscadet is very susceptible to the temperature of any growing season. If the weather is too cool, the grape struggles to ripen, and the wines can be overly acidic without a ton of fruit. 

Another thing to know is that the most flavorful or complex of the Muscadet wines is made using the sur lie method, which translates to “on the lees.” In this method, winemakers do not filter the wines, but let white and sparkling wines age on top of the dead yeast and other stuff that occurs naturally when making wine - other particles. The lees sometimes give wines a bit of a cloudy appearance, but can also make them feel smooth or round or creamy in the mouth, and add a nutty or bready flavor to the wines. It can also help to mellow out the oakiness of a wine if it is aged in oak, which can overpower white wines in particular. This is often the effect found in well-made oaked Chardonnay wines, not those crappy over oaked Chardonnays.

This sur lie method is important in Muscadet because, again, the wine can tend to be a bit bland. Just note that the “normal” AOC of Muscadet cannot use the term sur lie. If the wine is from the sub-appellations, like Muscadet-Sèvre et Maine, which is the largest sub-appellations and where all of our wines are from today, they can use the term as long as the wine spends at least one full winter on the lees and is not bottled until after the third week in March. The wine must also not be filtered before it is bottled. 

I know, a little confusing, which is why you may want to pay attention to what exactly you are buying if you are purchasing a Muscadet. I would look for either them calling out sur lie on the label, or look for wines from Sèvre et Maine

As I mentioned earlier, winemakers in the region have been trying to make the wine more complex over the last several years, and one of the additional techniques is to age the wine in oak. To create even more flavor, they sometimes stir the lees, which means that the lees are making more contact with the juice, and imparting more flavor. This technique is called “batonnage.” And others are also letting the wine stay in contact with the skins longer, which can also impart more flavor. 

Interestingly, the wine can be no more than 12% alcohol, and is considered often to be a fresh and crisp wine. And, there are those out there who call it the best French white wine under $20. 

So, on that note, I think it’s time to learn a little more about the specific wines we are drinking today. Whaddya say?

ARTICLES and LINKS

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YsLooITnwg 
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melon_de_Bourgogne
• https://www.cellartours.com/blog/france/the-magic-behind-muscadet-melon-de-bourgogne#:~:text=By%20the%201700s%2C%20much%20Gamay,unremarkable%20shadow%20of%20Chardonnay's%20greatness. 
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lees_(fermentation)#Sur_lie 
• https://www.wineenthusiast.com/basics/advanced-studies/wine-ages-on-lees-science/#:~:text=By%20Zoe%20Baillargeon-,Getty,milky%20appearance%20and%20smooth%20consistency. 
• https://www.winespectator.com/articles/what-is-batonnage-52755 
• https://www.ouiinfrance.com/muscadet-best-french-white-wine/ 
• https://medium.com/@samuel.petersson01/a-guide-to-the-grape-melon-de-bourgogne-71509d861ae3 

Muscadet Wines We Chose for This Episode 16:00

As usual, all of the wines we have chosen for this episode are under $20, and all of them should be relatively easy to find because I bought them all at wine.com. You should be able to find Muscadet at any larger wine shop or a store with a good wine section, and in particular if the wine shop calls out wines from the Loire valley in France, or that has a good French white wine selection. 

All of the wines today are also sur lie, or on the lees, and two of them have good ratings from professional reviewers.

The first wine we are going to drink today is called Chereau Carre Château de la Chesnaie Muscadet Sèvre Et Maine, which is a huge goddam mouthful. As you can hopefully tell from the name, it is from the specific appellation of Sèvre Et Maine. This is a pretty new vintage from 2022.

According to the winemaker, the grapes are pneumatically pressed which is intended to keep the quality of the juice a little better. This wine is aged on the lees and they use the batonnage technique, or stirring technique, to keep the lees mixing with the juice periodically. 

The next wine we are going to drink today is called Château de la Ragotière Muscadet Sur Lie Cuvée Améliee and is from the 2020 vintage which Wine Enthusiast gave a 91 rating! 

I have a couple of  tech sheets for this wine in the show notes, but the winery says that they are organic, using organic fertilizer and tillage - which is a way of mechanically manipulating the soil to kill weeds, etc. in a more natural way. 

The winery says they use 100% Malolactic fermentation in vats at the start of winter. Malolactic fermentation is something we have talked about before, but it is a secondary fermentation which converts malic acids into lactic acids and that helps to smooth out the wine. They also age on the lees for 14 months in underground vats. So this wine gets some aging before it is bottled. 

There are several descriptions of this wine which use the term “tangy” and so I am interested in trying it.

The last wine we are trying today is called Trois Versants Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie and is from the 2021 vintage, so all of our wines are from different years. 

I loved visiting the website for this wine because it just felt very family run and operated, and you can find a link to it in our show notes. According to some information I found, the winemaker harvests the grapes by hand, and ferments them in stainless steel tanks using only native yeasts. After the wine is fermented, thye keep the wine on the less in an underground cellar throughout the winter to, as they say, maintain its freshness and acidity. They do not use malolactic fermentation, and so I have seen this wine described as “zippy.” I could not tell if this wine was oaked at all, so we will see if we can tell in the tasting if it is. 

Evidently, the winemaker named Yves Bretonniere is regarded as an up and coming winemaker, and his wines are showing up in some of the best restaurants in Paris. So there!

All right. That’s enough background on Muscadet. It’s time for us to take a quick break so we can pour our first wine, and if you have a Muscadet on hand, why don’t you drink along with us!


ARTICLES and LINKS

• https://winefolly.com/deep-dive/tasting-and-pairing-muscadet-wine/ 
• https://www.wineexpress.com/chateau-de-la-chesnaie-2020-muscadet-sevre-et-maine?quantity=1 
• https://www.chereau-carre.co.uk/chateau-de-la-chesnaie/ 
• https://www.freres-couillaud.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Chateau-Ragoti%C3%A8re-Cuvee-Amelie.pdf 
• https://www.vineyardbrands.com/content/Tech%20Sheets/0019/0019-23-12-28-07-44-33-575.pdf 
• https://www.britannica.com/topic/tillage
• https://www.winespectator.com/articles/is-sitting-on-the-lees-the-same-as-malolactic-fermentation-5157  
• https://domaine3versants.fr/ 
• https://wineswithconviction.com/portfolio-item/domaine-des-3-versants/ 

Muscadet Wine Pairing Tasting and Reviews 22:05

Wine: Chereau Carre Château de la Chesnaie Muscadet Sèvre Et Maine (Click here to find this wine on wine.com. Affiliate link)
Region: France, Loire
Year: 2022
Price: $11.99
Retailer: wine.com
Alcohol: 12%
Grapes: Melon de Bourgogne
Professional Rating: WW 90

What we tasted and smelled in this Chereau Carre Château de la Chesnaie Muscadet Sèvre Et Maine:

• On the nose: Fruity, peach, apple, pear, watermelon, sweet, pineapple, dried apricot, a bit of baking spice, clove, stone
• In the mouth: Oak, body, does not clean off the tongue, peach, vanilla, chalk, mineral, stone, olive oil, thick, raw almond pith on the aftertaste, good for those who like Chardonnay

Food to pair with this Chereau Carre Château de la Chesnaie Muscadet Sèvre Et Maine: Seafood, spicy foods, shellfish, funky cheese, brie, gorgonzola with baguette
 
As a reminder on our rating scale, we rate on a scale of 1-10, where 7 and above means that we would buy it, and 4 and below means that we are likely to pour it down the sink, and a 5 or 6 means we are likely to drink it and finish it, but we are probably not going to buy it. 

Chereau Carre Château de la Chesnaie Muscadet Sèvre Et Maine Wine Rating: 

• Joe: 6/10
• Carmela: 7/10

Wine: Château de la Ragotière Muscadet Sur Lie Cuvée Amélie (Click here to find this wine on wine.com. Affiliate link)
Region: France, Loire
Year: 2020
Price: $14.99
Retailer: wine.com
Alcohol: 12%
Grapes: Melon de Bourgogne
Professional Rating: JS 91, WE 91

What we tasted and smelled in this Château de la Ragotière Muscadet Sur Lie Cuvée Amélie:

• On the nose: Perfume, dried orange zest, citrus, apricot, pear, baking spice, vanilla
• In the mouth: Tangy, citrus, nutmeg, clove, peach, apple, crisp pear, Asian pear, grapefruit, lemon verbena, acid balances out the oak

Food to pair with this Château de la Ragotière Muscadet Sur Lie Cuvée Amélie: Seafood, seafood risotto, shellfish risotto, grilled shrimp, spicy food, fish tacos, fish and chips, fish filet, crowd pleaser

Château de la Ragotière Muscadet Sur Lie Cuvée Amélie Wine Rating: 

• Joe: 7/10
• Carmela: 7/10

Wine: Trois Versants Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie (Click here to find this wine on wine.com. Affiliate link)
Region: France, Loire
Year: 2021
Price: $16.99
Retailer: wine.com
Alcohol: 12%
Grapes: Melon de Bourgogne

What we tasted and smelled in this Trois Versants Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie:

• On the nose: Brioche, bread, nutty, lemon, citrus peel, peach, perfume, cinnamon
• In the mouth: Zippy, racy, acidic, citrus, lemony, no oak, sea water on the aftertaste, sea shell, salty

Food to pair with this Trois Versants Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie: Good food wine, summer by the sea eating grilled seafood and oysters 

Trois Versants Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie Wine Rating: 

• Joe: 7/10
• Carmela: 7/10

Which one of these are you finishing tonight?
Carmela: Château de la Ragotière Muscadet Sur Lie Cuvée Amélie
Joe: Trois Versants Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie

Muscadet is definitely a white wine to try and put into your repertoire!

Taste profiles expected from Muscadet 38:43

• General 
  • Wine Folly: Lime, lemon, green pear, green apple, sea shell
• Chereau Carre Château de la Chesnaie Muscadet Sèvre Et Maine
  • Winery: Bright, vibrant aromas reminiscent of crushed oyster shells. Bone-dry, light-bodied on the palate, the wine reveals plenty of apple and pear fruit with minerally, citrus notes and high acidity complemented by briny notes. The finish is fresh and clean with nice complexity.
  • WW: This shows aromas and flavors of candied pears
• Château de la Ragotière Muscadet Sur Lie Cuvée Amélie
  • Winery: This soft, rounded wine is smooth with creamed apple flavors while also having a proper tangy of acidity. That tight and tangy edge makes the wine refreshing now while also allowing it to age for a few more months.
  • JS: A rounder, soft muscadet with apricots, mango stones, lemon pie, shortbread and nougat on the nose. Medium-bodied with a creamy, leesy and textured palate. Pastry and almond notes to close.
  • WE: A ripe and creamy textured wine, this has density from the lees aging (sur lie). That balances acidity and lemon flavors. There is a touch of pepper giving the wine an extra tang.
• Trois Versants Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie
  • Winery: Crisp, lively, and generous citrus along with mineral flavors and a bouquet reminiscent of the sea.

Outro and how to find The Wine Pair Podcast 40:45

Ok, so, Carmela, it is just about time for us to go, but before we do, we want to thank you very much for listening to us - and if you haven’t done so yet, now would be the perfect time to subscribe to our podcast and also a fantastic time to leave us a nice rating and review on our website or Apple podcasts or other podcast service - and it is an awesome and free way to support us and help us grow listeners.

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Alright, with that, we are going to sign off, so thanks again, and we will see you next time. And, as we say, life is short, so stop drinking shitty wine.

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