Notify me
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

2023 Gros-Plant du Pays Nantais
France | Loire
This racy wine is a perfect match for all types of crustaceans as well all by itself on a sunny afternoon.

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.

2022 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine “Réserve”
France | Loire
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.

2021 Bourgueil “Clos Sénéchal”
France | Loire
This divine red allies the power and finesse one would expect from this great terroir.

2023 Pouilly-Fumé “Vieilles Vignes”
France | Loire
Sauvignon Blanc has many incarnations throughout the world, but even in the Loire Valley—the grape’s spiritual home—Pouilly Fumé represents a very distinctive example.

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.

2023 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.

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.

2016 Chinon “Les Petites Roches” MAGNUM
France | Loire
Given light treatment in the cellar, this wine shows off Cabernet in its most delicate, charming form.

2023 Coteaux du Loir Rouge “Cuvée du Rosier”
France | Loire
February Adventures Club ~ This red is 100% Pineau d’Aunis, an indigenous red grape we hold dear to our collective hearts because of its mystifying aromatics and bright, juicy texture.
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
2020 Chinon “Les Varennes du Grand Clos”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2020 Saumur-Champigny “Franc de Pied”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2020 Saumur-Champigny “Les Mémoires”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2023 Reuilly Pinot Gris Rosé
Domaine de Reuilly France | Loire
2022 Saumur Champigny “La Foulée”
Domaine des Roches Neuves France | Loire
2020 Sancerre “Hameau de Reigny”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2020 Sancerre Champs d’Alligny
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2021 Chinon Blanc “Les Charmes”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2022 Savennières “Cuvée Spéciale”
Château d’Epiré France | Loire
2021 Saumur Champigny “La Marginale”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2023 Saumur Champigny “Cuvée Domaine”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2019 Vin de France Rouge Grolleau/Cabernet Franc “Clandestine”
Grange Saint-Sauveur France | Loire
2020 Chinon “Les Varennes du Grand Clos”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2020 Saumur-Champigny “Franc de Pied”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2020 Saumur-Champigny “Les Mémoires”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2023 Reuilly Pinot Gris Rosé
Domaine de Reuilly France | Loire
2022 Saumur Champigny “La Foulée”
Domaine des Roches Neuves France | Loire
2020 Sancerre “Hameau de Reigny”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2020 Sancerre Champs d’Alligny
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2021 Chinon Blanc “Les Charmes”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2022 Savennières “Cuvée Spéciale”
Château d’Epiré France | Loire
2021 Saumur Champigny “La Marginale”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2023 Saumur Champigny “Cuvée Domaine”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
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