Muscadet Sèvre et Maine "Clisson"

2020
France
Loire

100% Melon de Bourgogne. The Clisson bottling comes from a 50-100-year-old section vines in Pepière's core vineyard near the winery in the cru of Clisson. Besides vine age, the distinguishing factor is the granite de Clisson, a very hard, compact form of granite. The very poor top soils are decomposed granite de Clisson with very little clay and a lot of quartz and mica over hard mother rock of granite de Clisson. The farming is certified-biodynamic. The hand-harvested bunches are direct-pressed and the juice settled naturally overnight. It is then fermented spontaneously with natural yeasts and aged on its lees for a minimum of 2 years in underground vats. The wine is bottled without fining or filtering. 

92 points
"Matured 24 months on the lees, the 2020 Clisson from Domaine de la Pépière reveals a complex and mineral bouquet with aromas of licorice, spices, lemon oil and white fruits. Medium-bodied, crystalline and mineral-driven, it’s pure and clean with a delicate texture and an energetic mid-palate, marked on the finish by bright, racy acids that interweave with an impressive bitterness. This is an excellent rendition of the Clisson terroir."
Yohan Castaing,
Wine Advocate
August 2023
95 points
"The new releases of the Crus from Domaine de la Pépière fully underscore just how brilliant the finest examples of Muscadet are today. The 2020 vintage of Clisson shows beautiful depth and precision in its aromatic constellation of lemon, breadfruit, orange peel, a complex base of granitic minerality, white flowers and a topnote of lemongrass. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied and rock solid at the core, with a fine girdle of acidity, superb focus and grip, lovely mineral drive and a very long, seamlessly balanced and youthfully complex finish. At three years of age, the 2020 Clisson is just starting its journey and is clearly at least a decade away from its plateau of peak maturity, but if you are shrewd enough to have more than a few bottles in the cellar, it is hardly a crime to drink one or two in their beautiful youth. 2023-2065+."
John Gilman,
View From The Cellar
September 2023

SKU/Code: 
DB0676-20
Product Line: 
Wine
White
Varietal: 
Melon de Bourgogne
Farming Type: 
Biodynamic