Muscadet "Gaia" (White) 2020

The signature Melon de Bourgogne from winemaker Jérôme Bretaudeau. A smoky, minty nose, with citrus and mineral notes and a distinct smokiness on the palate. A long finish.

The Story: Jérôme Bretaudeau is known as a bit of a maverick in Muscadet- he grows grapes found nowhere else in the region, vilifies in every type of vessel imaginable and is constantly experimenting in the vineyard and the cellar. His Melon de Bourgogne wines deliver a distinctive minerality on the palate thanks to his granite soils. He makes both single parcel expressions and blends, to show the expressiveness of the terroir and the grape. Gaia is a blend of several gabbro parcels around Muscadet.

Vinification: Sixty-year-old vines grown on gabbro are hand harvested and grapes are vinified completely naturally- without any added yeasts or enzymes, and no cold filtration. The juice is aged on the lees for 18 months in concrete eggs.

Match it with: Grilled shellfish, oysters or lightly smoked or cured fish.