Notify me
2011 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine “Réserve”
Domaine Michel BrégeonDue to arcane laws surrounding the mention of sur lie on a bottle of Muscadet, any wine carrying the designation must be aged “on its lees” for a predetermined period of time, but if it surpasses a year on its lees, it can no longer call itself “sur lie.” Go figure. This 2011 spent forty months on its lees in underground, glass-lined tanks beneath Michel Brégeon’s winery in Gorges. When you smell it, keep in mind that no other wine, besides a Melon de Bourgogne grown in the gabbro soil of Gorges, could possibly smell like this one does. Gabbro is an igneous rock most often found in the earth’s crust beneath the ocean and forms, in my opinion, the greatest terroir on earth for Melon de Bourgogne.
—Dixon Brooke
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2011 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Melon de Bourgogne |
Appellation: | Muscadet Sèvre et Maine |
Country: | France |
Region: | Loire |
Producer: | André-Michel Brégeon |
Winemaker: | Fred Lailler |
Vineyard: | 40 years average, 7.8 ha total |
Soil: | Gabbro |
Farming: | Organic (certified) |
Production: | 3000 cases |
Alcohol: | 12% |
More from this Producer or Region
2020 Chinon “Le Clos Guillot”
France | Loire
Even though all of the wines hail from Chinon, the soil, elevation, and exposition all combine to make Le Clos Guillot their cuvée with the most finesse.
2022 Vouvray
France | Loire
Gentle and refreshing on the palate, it boasts a delightful balance of stony minerality with luscious, almost honeyed fruit and flowery notes.
2021 Vin de France Blanche
France | Loire
This skin-contact wine is redolent of blood orange and hyssop—a perfect apéritif for olives and anchovies.
2021 Bourgueil “La Dilettante”
France | Loire
A delicate, aromatic red in the “drink now!” vein.
2022 Saumur Champigny “La Foulée”
France | Loire
Made in a fruit-forward, supple, easy-drinking style with very little added sulfur.
2018 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine “Gorges”
France | Loire
Gorges boasts an incredible texture and tension imparted by decomposed, blue-green igneous rock, seventy-year-old vines, and years-long aging on the lees.
2020 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Clisson “La Molette”
France | Loire
A subtly floral nose and textured mouthfeel seal the deal. This is off-the-charts Muscadet.
2020 Vouvray “La Dilettante”
France | Loire
Delicate, precise, and succulent at the same time, this beautiful blanc will pair well with fresh seafood and light summer salads and pastas.
2022 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie
France | Loire
It fills the mouth with suspicions of honeysuckle and pulpy stone fruits, all while maintaining classic notes of iodine and sea breeze that make this the vinous equivalent of tidepooling.
2020 Vin de France Blanche
France | Loire
This lithe and expressive “orange” wine is an ideal palate-opener with a dry, cleansing finish and a fresh, cooling effect like coastal sage and seaspray.
About The Producer
André-Michel Brégeon
Michel Brégeon is part renegade, part crusader, and full-blown terroirist, ardently defending the Muscadet-Sèvre-et-Maine terroir. Thanks to his deep understanding of the land, he plays the game much differently than the region’s caves cooperatives and negociants, who produce en masse and lose the subtlety of the appellation. He worked for his family’s domaine before setting out on his own in 1975. When his father retired in 1989, he gave his remaining vineyard land to Michel. Today, Michel farms seven hectares of vineyards in clay, silica, and gabbro soils. Gabbro is old, blue-green, volcanic rock, rarely found in vineyard land. Formed by magma eruptions under the ocean floor, it imparts intense complexity to Michel’s wines.
About The Region
Loire
The defining feature of the Loire Valley, not surprisingly, is the Loire River. As the longest river in France, spanning more than 600 miles, this river connects seemingly disparate wine regions. Why else would Sancerre, with its Kimmeridgian limestone terroir be connected to Muscadet, an appellation that is 250 miles away?
Secondary in relevance to the historical, climatic, environmental, and cultural importance of the river are the wines and châteaux of the Jardin de la France. The kings and nobility of France built many hundreds of châteaux in the Loire but wine preceded the arrival of the noblesse and has since out-lived them as well.
Diversity abounds in the Loire. The aforementioned Kimmderidgian limestone of Sancerre is also found in Chablis. Chinon, Bourgueil, and Saumur boast the presence of tuffeau, a type of limestone unique to the Loire that has a yellowish tinge and a chalky texture. Savennières has schist, while Muscadet has volcanic, granite, and serpentinite based soils. In addition to geologic diversity, many, grape varieties are grown there too: Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, and Melon de Bourgogne are most prevalent, but (to name a few) Pinot Gris, Grolleau, Pinot Noir, Pineau d’Aunis, and Folle Blanche are also planted. These myriad of viticultural influences leads to the high quality production of every type of wine: red, white, rosé, sparkling, and dessert.
Like the Rhône and Provence, some of Kermit’s first imports came from the Loire, most notably the wines of Charles Joguet and Château d’Epiré—two producers who are featured in Kermit’s book Adventures on the Wine Route and with whom we still work today.
More from Loire or France
2022 Reuilly Pinot Gris Rosé
Domaine de Reuilly France | Loire
2022 Cheverny
Domaine du Salvard France | Loire
2022 Val de Loire Sauvignon Blanc “Unique”
Domaine du Salvard France | Loire
2022 Chinon Blanc
Bernard Baudry France | Loire
2022 Muscadet Côtes de Grand Lieu sur lie “La Nöe”
Éric Chevalier France | Loire
2020 Chinon “Cuvée Terroir”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2021 Bourgueil “Cuvée Alouettes”
Domaine de la Chanteleuserie France | Loire
2022 Vin de France Brut Nature “Elle est pas bulle, la vie?”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2022 Bourgueil Clairet “Avis de Vin Fort”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2021 Bourgeuil “Cuvée Beauvais”
Domaine de la Chanteleuserie France | Loire
2022 Sancerre
Domaine Hippolyte Reverdy France | Loire
2018 Vin de France Rouge Grolleau/Cabernet Franc
Grange Saint-Sauveur France | Loire
2022 Reuilly Pinot Gris Rosé
Domaine de Reuilly France | Loire
2022 Cheverny
Domaine du Salvard France | Loire
2022 Val de Loire Sauvignon Blanc “Unique”
Domaine du Salvard France | Loire
2022 Chinon Blanc
Bernard Baudry France | Loire
2022 Muscadet Côtes de Grand Lieu sur lie “La Nöe”
Éric Chevalier France | Loire
2020 Chinon “Cuvée Terroir”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2021 Bourgueil “Cuvée Alouettes”
Domaine de la Chanteleuserie France | Loire
2022 Vin de France Brut Nature “Elle est pas bulle, la vie?”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2022 Bourgueil Clairet “Avis de Vin Fort”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2021 Bourgeuil “Cuvée Beauvais”
Domaine de la Chanteleuserie France | Loire
2022 Sancerre
Domaine Hippolyte Reverdy France | Loire
2018 Vin de France Rouge Grolleau/Cabernet Franc
Grange Saint-Sauveur France | Loire
Vintage Chart Mentality
Vintage Chart Mentality
Trust the great winemakers, trust the great vineyards. Your wine merchant might even be trustworthy. In the long run, that vintage strip may be the least important guide to quality on your bottle of wine.—Kermit Lynch