Muscadet

Our Muscadet offerting are hand-selected for their exceptional quality. Muscadet wines make delicious aperitifs and pair well with oysters, shrimp or scampi.

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Wine making

For several years now, the plantation has been designed for mechanical harvesting, which is now carried out for most of the crop.

The grape berries are collected intact in neutral harvesting tubs (stainless steel or food-grade plastic) and are quickly conveyed into adjustable horizontal presses.

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The number of pressing operations is limited. Pressing is carried out gently so as to avoid the bitter or lignous elements which generate corruption and vegetal tastes.

The must (grape berry juice) is immediately pumped into the stainless steel or glass-lined concrete tanks. If necessary the must is cooled to avoid fermentation. Precautions are taken at every step in order to preserve both the fruit and juice from oxidation.

Twelve hours later, the heavier particles (thick lees) accumulate at the bottom of the tank as a result of simple gravity. Then they are separated (by pumping process) from the clean lees; this operation is called débourbage (racking).

The clean lees are then put into another tank where they heat up and sometimes receive some yeast, to ensure fermentation. The yeasts (preferably native) start to eat and digest the sugar of the fruit and transform it into alcohol and other fat bodies. This process also entails an important release of carbonic gas.

In order to avoid tumultuous and brisk fermentation, which would cause a substantial rise in temperature and entail losses of aroma and fruit tastes, the temperature of the fermentation tanks is adjusted by the wine maker at the required level (between 15 and 22 °C).

For those wine-growers who have kept their cooperage a few tanks are transferred into casks (new wood is not to be used for Muscadet, however) where fermentation will gradually end.

When only traces of sugar remain (less than 2 g per litre) and the yeasts die under the effect of alcohol, fermentation stops by itself and temperatures go down gradually.

After a few days' time,  as decided by the vinifier and depending on the weather conditions, a small quantity of sulfite is added which protects the new wine against oxidation and ensures its clarification and temperature decrease. This process also avoids malolactic transformation, which is unnecessary and even undesirable for the appellation.

Throughout this clarification process all the dead yeasts accumulate at the bottom of the tank and are then called fine lees.

Wines which are kept with these fine lees until bottling may receive the appellation Sur Lie.

The maturing of the wine, called "élevage" is carried out before bottling, and consists in regularly stirring the lees; in fact all these lees, although inert, can still release some particles which feed and enrich the wine.

This process called "bâtonnage" is carried out naturally when wine is transferred from the winery into the maturing and bottling facilities. It can then be renewed as often as necessary by simply pumping up in an air-free environment.

After the compulsory maturing period lasting until March, for appellation sur lie, wines are prepared for bottling. This must be carried out before the warm summer period, to avoid a loss of fruitiness and aromas, and to protect the residual carbonic acid which is an excellent preservative. In fact we owe the typical "beady" taste of Muscadet to the slightly higher content of CO2.

After bottling, the wine should be allowed to rest for a minimum of two months in order to recuperate all of its characteristics.


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