Domaine de la Pépière 'Château 'Thébaud' Muscadet Sèvre et Maine AOC 2019

Domaine de la Pépière is situated in the village of Maisdon-sur-Sèvre, right at the edge of Brittany. Marc Olliver, ex-engineer who grew up in the hamlet of La Pépière, founded the estate in 1984, steadily growing over the years by acquiring new plots that are carefully chosen for the age of their vines and the quality and originality of their terroirs. All of his vineyards are certified organic and he continues to take a minimalist approach in the winery. Consequently, his racy, lemon-tinged, mineral-driven Muscadets have become the benchmark for the region and have opened up a world of previously unknown potential in the area. This Muscadet-Sévre et Maine comes from the cru lieu dit of Château-Thébaud which has granitic subsoil with many cracks and a filtering soil with the ideal proportion of sand and clay to create this beautiful wine. Out of his 14 ha of Melon de Bourgogne vines only a 1.5 ha parcel of 25-70 year old vines goes into this bottling. Clusters are direct-pressed and fermented with natural yeast in stainless steel tanks, then aged on its lees in large, underground glass-lined cement tanks for up to 3.5 years (a length of time which actually disqualifies it from the "sur lie" designation). The 2019 was Marc Ollivier’s final vintage before retirement, and is a beautiful and delicious tribute to an iconic career. An opulent bouquet of lime zest, wildflowers, yeasty notes, and seafoam lead into layers of bright citrus fruit, shimmering minerals, zippy acidity, and a complex incredibly textured finish that goes on for days and days. Certified organic, biodynamically grown, low-intervention/natural wine.