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2018 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine “Gorges”
Domaine Michel Brégeon
Muscadet is also generally considered an oyster wine, but this cuvée is Fred Lailler’s masterpiece that transcends any pigeonholing that sometimes happens with these whites from the western Loire. Named for one of the region’s most prized crus that sits atop a very special soil called gabbro, Gorges boasts an incredible texture and tension imparted by this decomposed, blue-green igneous rock, seventy-year-old vines, and years-long aging on the lees. Moules marinières or any kind of seafood pasta are matches made in heaven.
—Tom Wolf
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2018 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Melon de Bourgogne |
Appellation: | Muscadet |
Country: | France |
Region: | Loire |
Producer: | André-Michel Brégeon |
Winemaker: | Fred Lailler |
Vineyard: | 50 years average, 7.8 ha total |
Soil: | Gabbro |
Farming: | Organic (certified) |
Alcohol: | 12% |
More from this Producer or Region

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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.

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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 Kimmeridgian 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.
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Sampler Includes:
2023 Vin de France Brut “Elle est pas bulle, la vie?” • Catherine & Pierre Breton $25.00
2023 Muscadet “Le Clos de la Butte” • Eric Chevalier $22.00
2023 Quincy • Domaine Trotereau $27.00
2023 Vouvray • Champalou $28.00
2023 Pouilly-Fumé “Vieilles Vignes” • Régis Minet $34.00
2023 Reuilly Pinot Gris Rosé • Domaine de Reuilly $24.00
2023 Bourgueil “Cuvée Alouettes” • Domaine de la Chanteleuserie $18.00
2023 Chinon “Les Granges” • Bernard Baudry $27.00
2023 Val de Loire Rouge Grolleau • Catherine & Pierre Breton $29.00
2023 Sancerre Rouge • Daniel Chotard $40.00
2022 Saumur Champigny “Terres Chaudes” • Domaine des Roches Neuves $42.00
2022 Vin de France Rouge “Le Martray” • Grange Saint Sauveur $49.00
Normally $363.00
SPECIAL SAMPLER PRICE $269.00
(a 25% discount)
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2022 Sancerre Rouge “Le Chant de l’Archet”
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2019 Vin de France Rouge Grolleau/Cabernet Franc “Clandestine”
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2024 Val de Loire Sauvignon Blanc “Unique”
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2023 Bourgueil “Cuvée Alouettes”
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2022 Jasnières “Dyane”
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2022 Quincy “Vieilles Vignes”
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2022 Sancerre “Les Coutones”
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2022 Chinon “Les Petites Roches”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
Loire Valley Wine Route Sampler
A glimpse into the quintessential vigneron lifestyle of the Loire
2023 Pouilly-Fumé “Vieilles Vignes”
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2020 Saumur Blanc “Clos Romans”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2022 Sancerre Rouge “Le Chant de l’Archet”
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2019 Vin de France Rouge Grolleau/Cabernet Franc “Clandestine”
Grange Saint-Sauveur France | Loire
Kermit once said...

Kermit once said...
If you're looking for value, look where no one else is looking.
Inspiring Thirst, page 211