Domaine de la Pépière Muscadet "Clos des Briords" '24

Founded by Marc Ollivier with seven hectares of land, the Pépière estate today is run by Rémi Branger and Gwénaëlle Croix. Rémi is a local whom Marc has known since he was a kid. When Rémi’s father retired in 2005, Marc purchased his land, and Rémi started as an employee in 2006. Gwen became a partner in 2014, following a more circuitous path that included discovering a passion for wine while living in China. Marc will be the first to admit that adding new people and perspectives helped push Pépière forward. He largely credits Rémi as the impetus for finally converting to organic viticulture, and Gwen for biodynamics. Things in the cellar have evolved as well, with longer periods of sur lie aging for the wines.

Marc was among the few producers in the region to vinify his parcels separately to show the potential of Muscadet’s terroirs, and that pursuit has continued to provide the estate with many new cuvées, some of which you’ve likely seen at the shop before. Year after year, these crisp white wines remain among the best values in the wine industry, and they are a great alternative to Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio. They drink beautifully in their youth and age stunningly well.

Marc began bottling the single-vineyard cuvée “Clos des Briords,” made from the grape Melon B, in 1988. Because of the soil and the greater concentration achieved with old vines, this is a more powerful wine than most Muscadets. These are the oldest vines of the estate, planted on soils of granite de Thébaud, which differs from granite de Clisson in containing more feldspar and clay. It is cooler and slower ripening, holds and drains water well, supplies more nutrients, and is looser, allowing roots to go deep to the hard granite mother rock.

The grapes are manually harvested, and fermentation is carried out with natural yeasts in stainless steel tanks. The wine is aged on its lees in large, underground, glass-lined cement tanks until bottling, about eight months later. The extended lees contact gives the wine subtle yeasty notes and helps create the crispness that makes Muscadet so refreshing. These characteristics, along with citrusy notes and minerality, make the wine a classic match for seafood.