Crus control: Muscadet

Muscadet’s producers are hoping to raise the region’s profile with a new classed growth system, which includes a newly sophisticated layer.

FOR A region as misunderstood as Muscadet, the implementation of a cru system may seem a little over ambitious.

Nonetheless, for the producers a swing towards more premium products – and therefore higher prices – may be one of the best ways of raising the profile of the region and, in doing so, change attitudes.

The idea is to create a “quality pyramid” for want of a better expression. Generic Muscadet forms the base, with Muscadet from the regions of Sèvre & Maine, Coteaux de la Loire and Côtes de
Grandlieu providing a middle and finally the new crus communaux being the apex wines.

The emergence of these wines comes after 10 years of hard work on the “base”. Since the dropping off in consistency which so damaged Muscadet’s reputation, there has been a turnaround in the quality of everyday Muscadet which has led prominent critics such as Jancis Robinson MW to urge consumers to return to drinking these wines.

The crus communaux represent a newly sophisticated layer to the Muscadet offering. The cru style has in fact existed for a while. For many years producers have left their wines longer on the lees, using smaller yields and from specific sites. On this the crus have been based. They aren’t allowed to use the sur lie title for a couple of reasons. Firstly, although cru wines are aged on their lees, they are bottled long after the November the following year limit assigned to ordinary sur lie; furthermore, they lack the spritz that consumers associate with Muscadet and normal sur lie so the omission of that denominator is designed to limit consumer confusion.

Currently, three crus have been recognised by the INAO. Situated in the Sèvre & Maine sub-region of the Nantais, they cover the villages of Gorges, Clisson and Le Pallet.

Four more villages in the area are hoping to be recognised by next year, Goulaine, Monieres-St-Fiacre, Château Thébaud and Mouzillon-Tillieres, while another two are beginning the process and will not be recognised for several years yet – La Haye Fouassière and Vallet.

The current area classed as “cru” is still tiny in comparison to the rest of the region: 200 hectares and around 5,000 hectolitres out of the 2,500ha in Sèvre and Maine alone and the 9,000ha and 450,000hl produced in the wider region.

Nonetheless, many producers see the development of the crus communaux as symptomatic of the wider revitalisation of the appellation.

“It’s becoming even more interesting in Muscadet,” thinks Marie Luneau of Domaine Luneau-Papin.

“The crus communaux are exciting and it’s good for the wines’ quality.”

One way of differentiating the new cru wines from their Nantais siblings is to put them in different bottles – Burgundian shapes being the most popular.

Luneau explains: “Burgundy bottles give a different impression. In traditional Muscadet bottles people think the wines are younger and for drinking with oysters – which the cru wines are not.”

PAIRING WITH FOOD

The link to seafood is both advantageous and something to be challenged. Muscadet does pair very well with seafood and it is no surprise to hear that the Eastern Seaboard of the US with its celebrated molluscs and crustaceans is one of the largest export markets for Muscadet.

Nonetheless, when it comes to the cru wines, and the others, a different pairing is possible. Indeed the added complexity of 18 months or even five or more years on the lees means that cru Muscadet is also capable of pairing with the likes of cheese and white meats. Older traditional Muscadets are also equally capable of matching cheese, even foie gras if one is feeling adventurous, but, again, mistakenly, Muscadet is not seen as age-worthy.

Although each commune will impose slightly different rules when it comes to sur lie ageing times and yields (which are largely a maximum of 45 tonnes/ha compared to the generic Muscadet’s 65 tonnes/ha), the common thread in all talks about the vineyards is soil.

Namely, how different the soils are between the crus with some, such as Château Thébaud, sitting on granite and others on gneiss and gabbro (Le Pallet for example).

Bruno Cormerais of the eponymous domaine, makes an interesting analogy with Beaujolais – another region breaking free from former misconceptions.

“The emergence of the crus is like the rebirth of Beaujolais,” he suggests. “And, like Beaujolais, Muscadet was generally viewed as being good quality but quite simple.”

Like Gamay this will be because of the grape, Melon de Bourgogne. A 17th century import (the Nantais actually grew quite a lot of red before), it had been largely dismissed in its native province and wasn’t treated much better in its new home. Seen as a forward, easy-drinking wine, it was not deemed capable of more, but this, as Cormerais continues, is another mistake.

“Muscadet is the opposite of Sauvignon Blanc,” he says. “It takes time for the wine to take on its flavours. Sauvignon just explodes with flavour very early on.”

The crus, for all the excitement and interest they generate, are not the holy grail. However, the crus do represent a desire to change and a renewed technical ability and drive for quality that was hitherto perhaps too deeply hidden from the public gaze.

As Lieubeau concludes, “With the crus we are entering a new period.”