The Loire Valley boasts the most diverse wine region in France, with four sub-regions, which are listed from west to east: the Pays Nantais, Anjou-Saumur and Touraine, both known for world-class Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc, then finally the Central Vineyards, where the most classic examples of Sauvignon Blanc reside. Today’s wine, made from the varietal Melon de Bourgogne, known as Muscadet to most, originates from Pays Nantais, the western-most sub-region of the Loire, which lies alongside the Atlantic. The most important appellation in the Muscadet is Sèvre-et-Maine, named after the two rivers that converge here.

Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine is also home to Château de la Morandière; their 35–year-old winemaker, Alexandre Déramé, is like a confident yet humble wine auteur and is a third generation vigneron. He oversees virtually all aspects of the vineyard and the cellar with a keen focus on every detail. The Vieille Vignes Estate, in La Roches Gaudinières, is known for its high concentration of “Gabbro,” a metallic, hard volcanic rock, which is also mixed with silex and quartz; it gives life to vines that are over eighty years old. These vines are tended organically; Déramé is one of only fifteen producers in the appellation that farm organically. Further, he is known for maintaining one of the lowest yields in all Pays Nantais, which accounts for the incredible concentration in his wines. Hand-harvesting and hand-sorting are compulsory at Château de la Morandiere. The wine is aged sur lie for a staggering 24 months in cement tank, then racked into stainless and aged for another year. The result is an incredible texture, refined and focused minerality, crisp acidity and the perfect balance.

This 2010 Vieilles Vignes has a light golden straw yellow with green reflections on the rim. Although the wine is five years old, it looks incredibly young on sight but is now beginning to exhibit the complexity of its age. The creamy and mineral-driven nose boasts aromas of fresh yellow apple, lime blossom, sea salt, honey, stirred lees and wet stones. The medium-bodied palate offers an incredible concentration of flavor with notes of white peach, under ripe yellow apple, white flowers, beeswax, yeast from the extensive sur lie aging and an almost endless, mineral-driven finish. This wine is on fire at the moment, but I anticipate this bottle drinking well over the next 5-10 years or more if kept in a proper cellar. Ideally, serve this wine at about 50 degrees in large stems of your choice and pair with the freshest and best oysters you can get your hands on. This wine has enough stuffing and complexity to pair with more serious and complex seafood dishes, but fresh oysters are just about perfect served raw by themselves, or with an incredibly simple mignonette sauce. Hold the cocktail sauce for another time. Bon appétit.