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Domaine Gilbert Bossard, Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine “Sur Lie”

Loire Valley, France 2018 (750mL)
$22.00
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Domaine Gilbert Bossard, Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine “Sur Lie”

If I had to single out one mantra that frustrates me the most about the wine business it’s that “every good wine has been discovered” because of globalization and technology. And although I wholeheartedly reject that—new and old producers alike are popping up on our radars every year—it still blows my mind that today’s exceedingly delicious and ultra-classic Muscadet is still largely undiscovered outside of France. Forget globalization of business and at-your-fingertips technology, it took a physical trip to France and a coincidental meeting with Jean-Louis Bossard for us to discover this low-priced beauty. And although our interaction was brief, namely because his English was rudimentary and our French was nonexistent, what did come through loud and clear was (1) his family’s 500-year grape-growing presence in Muscadet and (2) his baritone “no” when we asked if he had representation in the United States.


One taste of Bossard’s workhorse “Sur Lie” bottling and we were convinced there was a language barrier—nope! The purity, authenticity, and can-only-be “Muscadet” quality of this deeply thirst-quenching 2018 absolutely shatters our battle-hardened price-to-quality scale. In other words, today’s Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine is among the greatest values in French wine! No longer can we overlook the delicious and satisfying charm of Muscadet—not at this price. Buy a case and drink it around the clock, no matter the season, and you’ll still wish you had more!


What I admire about this highly affordable bottle is that it hails from a family that has been married to the region of Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine for a staggering number of generations: Since the 1500s, the Bossards have passed down their vine cultivating expertise father to son. And since the 1900s, they’ve maintained their focus on growing while adding winemaking into the fold. They’re headquartered in the village of Chapelle-Heulin, smack dab in the heart of the Pays Nantais—the area southeast of Nantes where the Sèvre and Maine rivers wind their way to meet the Loire (thus the name “Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine”). And today, it is Gilbert’s son, Jean-Louis, who focuses almost exclusively on the famed Melon de Bourgogne grape throughout a number of unique terroirs in Muscadet, a sprawling region with a diverse soil mosaic of marine fossils, clay, gneiss, granite, and schist. 



From a sorted collection of their sustainably farmed vineyards, the Bossard’s vinify their Melon de Bourgogne with natural, ambient yeasts in a combination of stainless steel and glass vats. The wine then spends a minimum of six months aging on its lees (thus earning the “sur lie” title) before bottling, lending the wine an appealing rising-bread-dough note layered over the classic “sea-spray” salinity Muscadet is famous for. In the glass, without a decant, it quickly opens up with bright and expressive aromas of ripe green and yellow apple, citrus peel, white flowers, Anjou pear, fresh cream, crushed wet stones, sea salt, lees, and underripe melon peel. While this brisk, creamy, and energetic white will hold up surprisingly well (2-5 more years) given its price, it is fully ready to be enjoyed now with fresh oyster on the half shell or any raw/grilled/fried seafood of your choosing. Serve it colder, around 45 degrees, in all-purpose white wine stems and go wild!
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Country
France
Region
Loire Valley
Sub-Region
FranceSèvre et Maine
Soil
Clay, Gneiss, Schist
Farming
Sustainable
Blend
Melon de Bourgogne 100%
Alcohol
12.0
TEMP.
40-45
Glassware
All-Purpose Whites
Drinking
Now-2023
Decanting
Optional
Pairing
Broiled Oysters

France

Bourgogne

Beaujolais

Enjoying the greatest wines of Beaujolais starts, as it usually does, with the lay of the land. In Beaujolais, 10 localities have been given their own AOC (Appellation of Controlled Origin) designation. They are: Saint Amour; Juliénas; Chénas; Moulin-à Vent; Fleurie; Chiroubles; Morgon; Régnié; Côte de Brouilly; and Brouilly.

Southwestern France

Bordeaux

Bordeaux surrounds two rivers, the Dordogne and Garonne, which intersect north of the city of Bordeaux to form the Gironde Estuary, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The region is at the 45th parallel (California’s Napa Valley is at the38th), with a mild, Atlantic-influenced climate enabling the maturation of late-ripening varieties.

Central France

Loire Valley

The Loire is France’s longest river (634 miles), originating in the southerly Cévennes Mountains, flowing north towards Paris, then curving westward and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean near Nantes. The Loire and its tributaries cover a huge swath of central France, with most of the wine appellations on an east-west stretch at47 degrees north (the same latitude as Burgundy).

Northeastern France

Alsace

Alsace, in Northeastern France, is one of the most geologically diverse wine regions in the world, with vineyards running from the foothills of theVosges Mountains down to the Rhine River Valley below.

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