$24.66 a Bottle!

The classic western Loire seafood wine

Melon de Bourgogne is the white grape synonymous with the Muscadet appellation in the western Loire Valley. Muscadet Sevre-et-Maine is the best known of the Muscadet appellations of the Loire Valley's Pays Nantais district, on the central western coast of France. The title covers exclusively white wines from vineyards around the Sevre and Maine rivers – minor tributaries of the Loire which converge just outside Nantes. The wines are made from Melon de Bourgogne, a grape variety brought to the western Loire Valley from Burgundy, as the name suggests. The Melon de Bourgogne is now planted almost exclusively around the port of Nantes, near the Atlantic outlet of the mighty Loire river. The name Melon de Bourgogne stems from the shape of the leaves which are similar to melons and the fact that it came to the region from Burgundy.

The similarity between the name Muscadet and that of the Muscat grape family is sometimes the cause of confusion, but a single taste of a crisp, dry Muscadet wine will confirm that it is definitely not made from Muscat grapes.

The Sauvion Mucadet Sevre et Maine 'Baronne Cleray' Melon de Bourgogne 2011 is the classic western Loire seafood wine. Very crisp, clean and 'zingy', with a sour lemon like acid that really refreshes the palate. It has a yeasty, biscuit, brioche like taste, with a moderate length and a clean finish. A saltiness can sometimes be identified, suggestive of the region’s maritime history.

The origins of Muscadet are linked with the slave trade as the Dutch needed a light, clean, dry white wine to distill into a spirit and then trade down the west coast of Africa in exchange for slaves. Once the slave trade ended, the French were left with large vineyards for which they did not have a market for the wine. Fortunately, they then discovered that if the wine was left on its lees (or 'sur lie') for an extra 6 months, it gained a whole new depth of flavour and complexity, evolving into a world-class wine. The lees are the yeast deposits, which gradually settle out to the bottom of the barrel during the production of the wine, and they have a delicate creamy butterscotch flavour. This flavour is gradually infused into the wine through the extended contact in the barrel and, coupled in the best instances with the tiniest hint of oak, transforms the wine in the process.

Ernest Sauvion bought the 18th Century Château du Cleray as a family home in 1935, and his son (also Ernest) started commercial production with his eldest son, Jean Ernest, then 19, in 1965. The property is now run day to day by the big, burly Jean Ernest, assisted by his brothers Yves and Dominique, and their various offspring. In addition to the 30 hectare vineyard site they own, they also act as négociants, and select the very best wines of the region, (for which they have landed themselves in considerable trouble for paying well above the going rate to ensure the very best quality) to carry their labels.

The Sauvion Mucadet Sevre et Maine 'Baronne Cleray' Melon de Bourgogne 2011 is very highly rated by the worlds wine press (rated as "excellent" by Robert Parker) the Chateau du Cleray label is possibly the best Muscadet on the market today.

Enjoy:)