Mission Codename I see food, and I eat it.
Premise: Landing a killer half-priced deal from Muscadet. Instructions: Pile up and party on!
We cannot emphasize the pure joy your taste buds will experience when this $12 Frenchie hits your lips. From the land of oysters, Moules Frites, and all shapes and sizes of goat cheese, comes this bone-dry, uber-crisp, electrically eclectic dee-lite of a white wine, guaranteed to jolt your senses. It might even elevate you to a higher state of consciousness..
A quick visit to Wine Folly will confirm that “Muscadet is loved as an excellent food pairing wine due to its minerally, citrus-like taste and high acidity. The appellation, Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, is the largest and most important region for high quality Muscadet. Expect to spend $20–$25 for a serious Muscadet Sèvre et Maine with extended lees aging with aromas of fresh bread and preserved lemon.”
Unless you’re a Wine Spies Operative that is.
Beyond those telltale aromas of fresh bread and preserved lemon, layers upon layers of white blossoms, stony minerals, d’Anjou pear, crème fraîche, and white pepper join in on the fun aromatically. As if you stuck your tongue into a chilly bath of electrons, the liveliness is thru the roof here, while the zing comes wrapped in a creamy envelope of rounded fruitiness. This perplexing deliciousness calls for a glimmering platter of “fruits of the sea” (Plateau de Fruits de Mer as the French call ‘em) with all kinds of raw and cooked shellfish imaginable under the sea, is the ultimate pairing stacked tall on a bed of ice. Google the images if you dare, we’re still drooling here.
If seafood is not your thing, the pairing potential is endless, this is a foodie’s dream come true. Is day drinking next to the pool on a hot summer day in your future? Have an ice bucket ready, and enjoy it with some vitamin-D.
By the way, the grape at play here is Melon, better known as Melon de Bourgogne, paying homage to its Burgundian origins. Good luck finding it outside of Muscadet, it’s become just a local thing. Okay a few more ideas as we can’t help it. Since the name suggests it, we tried with prosciutto-wrapped honeydew melons, a watermelon chevre and mint salad, a Greek orzo salad with chunks of feta, even pan-seared chicken with a side of rosemary beurre blanc sauce, all worked like magic.
No press on this 2018, but a couple of vintages ago Wine Spectator rated it “outstanding” for being “a wine of superior character and style” with a spot on tasting note: “This has a plump core of lemon and white peach framed by good zip, with chamomile and sel gris accents along the edges. Finishes with a creamy feel.”
Sooo, we bought every drop we could but can’t guarantee running out. Ready, set, GO.
Tasting Profile
Tasting Profile
Look | Pale enough to be almost colorless, with the slightest glow of hay in the sunlight |
---|---|
Smell | Telltale aromas of fresh bread and preserved lemons are there and more… |
Taste | Layers upon layers of white blossoms, stony minerals, d’Anjou pear, crème fraîche, and white pepper join in on the fun |
Finish | As if you stuck your tongue into a chilly bath of electrons, thru the roof lively and zingy, in a creamy envelope of rounded fruitiness |
Pairing | This perplexing deliciousness calls for a glimmering Plateau de fruits de Mer is the ultimate pairing stacked tall on a bed of ice |
What the Winery Says
2018 'Cuvée de l'Herminière' Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine
- Winemaker
- Marc Vappereau
- Varietal
- 100% Melon de Bourgogne
- Vintage
- 2018
- Appellation
- Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, Loire Valley
- Locale
- La Haie-Fouassiere
- Soils
- Mica-schists, amphibolites, fine alluvial deposits
- Alcohol
- 12.5%
- Yields
- 55 hl/ha
- Aging
- 22 months on the lees, 12 months in bottle
- Vessels
- 100% stainless steel