Some regions are woefully underrated, which means the best examples are fantastic buys. That's the story of Muscadet, the fresh, light, crisp, racy French white made at the cool western end of the Loire Valley. The 2009 Domaine de la Pépière is the latest vintage of my go-to label, made by brilliant winemaker Marc Ollivier. Its tangy, slightly salty taste recalls the briny, savory scents of the nearby Atlantic Ocean.

The best wines in the Muscadet appellation come from three sub-regions; Muscadet-Sèvre et Maine is the most well-known, the biggest, and produces the vast majority of wine.

If you've dismissed all Muscadet as dull, simple whites, try again. Yes, a lot of plonky vin industriel goes under the name. But a number of ambitious winemakers like Ollivier aim for more complexity by going the traditional route in the cellar -- aging the wine sur lie (on the lees) until bottling. Keeping the wine in contact with the lees (the sediment left over from fermentation) brings out richer texture and deepens flavors.

A former engineer, Ollivier took over vineyards owned by his father in the 1980s in search of a slower way of life. He ended up becoming a major force in reviving authentic Muscadet and an advocate of more natural viticulture and winemaking -- making a transition to organic vines, harvesting by hand and using the native yeasts in the vineyard to start fermentation instead of throwing in chemical dial-a-flavor starters.

Ollivier makes several more expensive single vineyard bottlings that are delicious too, but this one is a good place to start.

Elin McCoy is a wine and spirits columnist and author of "The Emperor of Wine: The Rise of Robert M. Parker, Jr. and the Reign of American Taste."

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"A Guest" ID'd

Sorry 'bout that. Didn't know how the site operated. The least I can do is accept responsibility for my opinionated opinions. Jackie Friedrich

a guest , November 09, 2010

More on Muscadet

With all due respect, Elin, Marc Ollivier makes very good Muscadet but he joined a revolution already in progress.
If wine journalists spent more time talking about exciting, affordable wines from “minor regions” instead of focusing the lion’s share of their attention on Blue Chip trophies from Bordeaux and Burgundy and NASDAQ exclusivities from Napa and Priorat, consumers might learn that there were thousands of delectable Old World wines priced reasonably enough to drink on a regular basis.
I am not the only wine writer who feels that Muscadet is one of the great dry white bargains of the wine world – always mineral, always fresh, never too alcoholic. Of course, I’m speaking of good Muscadet, of which Ollivier is one of some 30 to 50 producers.
While I’m at it, I’ll also point out that the wines, when well made, are not acid and they age well, Personally, I’m drinking 20 year old Muscadet now. And the food pairings go way, way beyond oysters. Consider, for example, a standard spread of Italian antipasti.

a guest , November 09, 2010