Domaine de la Pèpiére
For our August Winery focus we are moving Northwest to the Loire Valley. South of Nantes lies the region we fondly know as Muscadet. One of the best-known areas is Muscadet Sevre-et-Maine. These wines have always been known for easy drinking fun wines that are perfect for summertime and seafood. For most of recent history these wines have been largely mass produced with a focus on quantity. Thankfully all it takes is one producer sometimes to start changing a region. Domaine de la Pépière is easily the most iconic producer of Muscadet with a diverse stable of single vineyards and cru’s to choose from. Marc Olivier (His last Vintage was 2019) and his amazing wines first hit the U.S market in 1988. The flag bearer is his Muscadet Sur Lie offering. This wine is perfect in all respects (At least according to the human writing this article). The 2019 vintage is incredibly indicative of what this wine is; Racy Minerality, Bright Citrus, a textural creamy finish. What this wine is though is perfectly balanced, which is much talked about and rarely achieved. Balanced wine means achieving equilibrium between acid, sugar, and the alcohol level. In other words balance means you don’t notice anything out of place and are able to enjoy the beauty of the wine.
Domaine de la Pèpiére practices organic and biodynamic viticulture. The wines they produce come off vineyards no larger than 5 hectares and are massively diverse. Their vineyards are all hand harvested which is a complete rarity. All of their wines are incredibly small in total production, and as a result we see very few cases here in CT. These wines have incredible aging potential, and all vintages below are current. We received our allocation for the year in July! Below is what we have in the store:
White Wines
Muscadet Sevre et Maine “La Pepie” 2019
Muscadet Sevre et Maine “Clos de Briords” 2019
Muscadet Sevre et Maine “Monnières-Saint Fiacre” 2015
Muscadet Sevre et Maine “Clisson” 2015
Red Wines (Classified as Vin de Pays, since red wine production is not allowed in the AOC)
La Pepie Cot (Malbec) 2019
La Pepie Cabernet Franc 2019