muscadet de sèvre-et-maine clos du poyet chateau les fromenteaux 2005
ByPierre Luneau-Papin owns a number of small estates within Muscadet. His family has farmed and produced wines from the Melon de Bourgogne or “Muscadet” grape since the early eighteenth century. His estates in Le Landreau cover a wide variety of soil types, and are usually bottled under the name of the original owner or château.
This parcel, part of which lies within the boundaries of the old Château les Fromenteaux is planted on mica schist, and silica soil, and the vines average 58 years of age. The low yields, and selected, hand-harvesting ensure rich concentration of both the fruit and flinty, mineral tones of the wine.
Regional History
The Loire River runs 635 miles from the Cévennes Mountains in southeastern France to the Atlantic Coast and flows through (or near) over 60 different appellations. The vineyards southeast of Nantes, the bustling port at the western end of the Loire, were originally planted to ancient red grapes producing marginal wines of only local interest.
In the 17th Century, the Dutch, shipping huge amounts of white wine from the Southwest of France to produce brandy, faced huge tariffs on the wines they bought in Charente (the home of Cognac) and were forced to look for alternative sources. They convinced the growers surrounding Nantes (where there were no tariffs) to plant white grapes. A catastrophic frost had recently decimated the Nantais vineyards, and a new grape had been brought to the area: Muscadet, a.k.a. Melon de Bourgogne, a white cousin to the Gamay grape.
Originally intended as a base wine for brandy, Muscadet proved a perfect foil for the fresh seafood of the region. Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine, located between the Maine and Sèvre Rivers, produces the most refined wines.
Regional Foods
The lower half of the Loire River, the longest in France, runs through more than forty wine appellations, among them Sancerre, Pouilly-Fume, Vouvray, Chinon, Saumur, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, and Muscadet. This broad valley, noted for its big skies and big chateaux, doesn’t boast an indigenous cuisine. Nevertheless, the rich soil and the varied landscape provide a bounty of raw materials for a cook.
Diverse livestock are raised on local farms; the Atlantic coast and the river itself supply plentiful fish; vegetables and grains are harvested from the large, well-tended kitchen gardens seen everywhere. So one drinks Muscadet with Atlantic oysters and pike au beurre blanc, Vouvray with friture de la loire (fried freshwater fish) or pork rillettes. Rillons, little fists of pork belly, might be enjoyed with a glass of Montlouis. The reds of Chinon and Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil often accompany jugged hare, pork with prunes or venison. Restaurants offer baked cod, escargot, frog’s legs and freshwater fish pate with Pouilly-Fume.
© 2007 Moore Brothers Wine Company