Brett happens

A tasting that featured several new arrivals, including a few wines from the November 8th Cellier release. We began with a pair of top Muscadets.

Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine 2010, Fief du Breil, Domaine de la Louvetrie (Domaines Landron) ($24.75, Rézin)
100% biodynamically farmed Melon de Bourgogne from 40-year-old vines growing in quartz and orthogneiss soil. Pneumatically pressed. The must undergoes cold débourbage (clarification by racking the must after allowing suspended particles to settle out) before three weeks’ fermentation in concrete vats with native yeasts. The wine is then chilled and lightly sulphured to prevent malolactic fermentation and aged on the lees with regular stirring for 14 to 24 months, depending on the vintage. Another squirt of sulphur dioxide is added on bottling.
Lemon and chalk over faint gunflint and iodine. Rich in extract but fresh, vibrant and very dry. Fruity until the keen acidity swells and sea stones roll in. Long, tingly finish. Dazzling in its understated way. A thoroughbred that will only improve with a few years in the cellar. (Buy again? Definitely.)

Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine 2010, Expression de Granit, Domaine de l’Écu ($20.70, 10282873)
100% biodynamically farmed Melon de Bourgogne from 45- to 55-year-old vines grown in granitic soil. Pneumatically pressed. No débourbage. Fermented with indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled (15–17ºC) vats. Aged on the lees. 12% ABV.
Sweet apple fruit and blossom along with the expected mineral and seaside aromas. More buxom – rounder, fruitier, richer – than usual and than the 2010 Fief du Breil. Simple, green apply and restrained until chewed, then a matrix of lemon and minerals laser-etched with acid. Pure, bracing, mouth-filling and long. (Buy again? Yes, to stash away for five or ten years.)