Place & identity
- Location: South-east of Nantes, around the Sèvre Nantaise and Maine rivers.
- Grape: Melon, also called Melon de Bourgogne.
- Style: Still dry white; Muscadet is unrelated to the aromatic Muscat grape family.
Personal workspaceMuscadet Sèvre-et-Maine
Sur lie: the current rule
- Lees contact: For the sur lie mention, keep the wine on its fine fermentation lees until at least 1 March after harvest. It must still be on those lees at bottling or at its first dispatch out of the vinification cellar.
- Bottling window: From 1 March in the year after harvest through 30 June in the second year after harvest.
- Location: Bottling is confined to the appellation area and its defined immediate-proximity area; an estate-only rule is outdated.
- At the table: Pour with oysters, mussels marinière or grilled sole; the fresh dry white keeps delicate seafood flavours clear.
At the table
- Assess: Compare a young sur lie with a mature, long-lees wine such as Clisson or Gorges; texture and release age change the dish more than a generic shellfish rule.
- Pair: Young wine with oysters or mussels marinière uses brisk freshness against brine. A lees-rich bottle with lobster or scallops in a light cream sauce has the breadth to meet butter and shellfish sweetness.
- Service: Start young wines at 9–11°C and mature or lees-rich bottles at 11–13°C. Try brief aeration after tasting only if robust and closed; preserve the lift of an already expressive young wine. Gently decant a mature bottle only when sediment requires it.