2025 Pepiere Muscadet Clos de Briords

A white wine made from 100% Melon de Bourgogne from a single-plot vineyard of old vines, the vast majority between 50 and 70 years old, planted between 1950 and 1989. The Clos des Briords is located on the hillsides of the Maine River, a tributary of the Loire, and totals 4.40 hectares. The bedrock is Granite de Château Thébaud, a fissured rock allowing deep root penetration, with thin topsoils of clay, sand, and gravel providing excellent drainage. This old-vine cuvée allows longer hang-time for optimal maturity, creating a more powerful, mineral-driven Muscadet that is quite austere in its youth, developing complexity in aromatics and structure over months or years. The wine is ageworthy. Served decanted at 12-14°C.

$36.00

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Specs

Type: White

Grapes: Melon de Bourgogne

Winemaker: Rémi Branger, Gwénaëlle Croix

Vintage: 2025

Geography

Country: France

Region: Loire Valley

Sub-region: Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine

Vineyard: Clos des Briords

Farming

Certified organic viticulture with transition to biodynamic certification. Hand harvesting, minimal soil additives or spraying since 2006. Treatment only with copper, sulfur, and plant-based preparations including nettles, comfrey, and horsetail from the Maine River (used through steeping, fermenting, or decoctions). Biodynamic preparations used to reinforce vines against disease and support soil microbiological life. Treillissage on three wires and short pruning to achieve optimal ripeness. Three-hectare plot with very old vines planted between 1930 and 1950, propagated by massal selection. Terroir composed of sand, gravel and clay with subsoil of Château-Thébaud granite, rich in feldspar and clay.

Harvest

Hand-harvested grapes from massale selection vines (primarily over 60 years old) with deep root penetration through fissured granite bedrock; grapes transported carefully and pressed within two hours of picking as whole clusters in gravity-fed pneumatic press without prior crushing.

Fermentation

Must racked after 12 hours to remove solid matter; spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts from grape skins at controlled temperatures; no chaptalization; no malolactic fermentation.

Aging

Aged on lees for 8-9 months in large underground tanks, with extended lees aging (minimum 2 years, sometimes 36-48 months) in stainless steel vats without racking; minimal sulfur use (average 5g total added in December and January); no modern enological additives; bottled unfined and unfiltered.