Day 34 - A relaxed day

First and foremost, we must bid the very lovely Diane, Mrs W, a very Happy Birthday!
Today was a very relaxed day, with very little done, except a brief drive to Le Pallet... I say brief as I hoped to visit the wine museum today (it is advertised as open every day), but it is closed on saturdays! So I continued on to closeby Vallet known as the "Capital of Muscadet" and headed to the Maison du Muscadet for a little tasting. A lovely young man let me taste 5 wines.... he did suggest that as this 'Maison' represented the interests of 25 wine producers, I could taste at least that number of wines, but even I in my quest of wine discovery couldn't face that many wines!

1. AOC Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur Lie 2009 - Le Clos du Chaillou - Most of the wines which are within the Appellation 'Muscadet Sèvre et Maine' are made 'sur Lie', that is 'on lees' or the remnants of the spent yeast. In most cases, the wine is made and bottled very soon after harvest in September and is left on the lees till March. The nose on this wine was surprisingly citrus and floral and the taste, refreshing - citrus, white peach, a little floral and a little bread from the lees.
2. AOC Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur Lie 2009 - Alain Olivier - On the nose, much more yeasty, also flinty and then in the background citrus. The taste was of subtle peach flavours.
3. Vin de Table Cuvée Saveurs - This is a 100% Muscadet, left on the lees, but also barrel aged, but because it has achieved an alcohol content of more than 12%, it falls outside the very strict criteria for the 'Muscadet Sèvre et Maine' appellation. The nose was of brioche, peach and a little honey with a very subtle peach flavour, hints of blossom with overtones of flint.
4. AOC Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur Lie 2007 - Château de la Grupière. Again, aged in oak barrels, the nose was more raisins, with a little tobacco. On the palate, peach, grapefruit with a hint of flintiness.
5. Vin de Table Cuvée Saveurs - Again, the 13% alcohol means this 'late harvest' "Vendange Tardive" wine cannot claim appellation status. Its nose was raisin and apricot and to taste honey and apricot. It was elegantly sweet, not luscious like the Coteaux du Layon or Alsace sweet wines... and also retained a little heat from the alcohol content. This is a rarity for Muscadet, something the wine producers are trying out... and for my money... doing a great job!

I've been very impressed by the Muscadet wines and they will definitely be a wine I will consider drinking in the future.
Anyway, tasting complete, it was into the car and back to Clisson.