Domaine Luneau-Papin
Marie Chartier-Luneau showing the underground vats
The rumours of Muscadet’s death are greatly exaggerated. There is still plenty of excellent Muscadet to be had. It may be made from the relatively harmless melon de Bourgogne, but it’s grown across a variety of soils and sub-soils, and in the hands of skilled exponents such as at Domain Luneau-Papin, the wines will politely force anyone who tastes them to reconsider their views on Muscadet wines.
Both soil origin and traditional use of lees in maturation help to mark out Muscadet’s unique characters, as Marie Chartier-Luneau, wife of Pierre-Marie Luneau explained, saying “for 25 to 30 years, my father-in-law, Pierre Luneau, has vinified his terroirs separately. We have ten different kinds of Muscadet.” (see tasting notes, below).
Lees work is very important. Watching for ‘sur lies’ on the label is an essential start point in the clues for potential interest (unless you’re looking for ‘communal crus’ Muscadet. Underground tanks were fitted in the 1950s and 1960s, before refrigeration was widely available, and it is in these that the wines rest on their lees to acquire additional weight, texture and the most filigree of petillances. Luneau-Papin have 40 of these tanks, variously measuring between 40 and 80 hectolitres. In most vintages they use 25 to 30 of them, giving them plenty of opportunity to age some wines for more than a year on lees, that is, those communal cru wines.
Tasting, in situ, June 2013
Pierre Luneau-Papin, Pierre de la Grange 2011, Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine, sur lie.
12%. Schist soil. On lees for 7-8 months. Stony nose, white flowers with a bit of depth to the front palate. Smooth, soft/round entry, with lemon-cream notes, smooth with good intensity, volume of fruit and attractive concentration. Some lightness of being here.
Pierre Luneau-Papin, Pierre de la Grange 2012, Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine, sur lie.
12%. Schist soil. On lees for 7-8 months. Salty and peachy nose. Fresh, floral, primary fruit here, light and fruity. Elegant, lifted with a bit of a salty tang.
Pierre Luneau-Papin, Les Pierres Blanches. 2011, Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine, sur lie.
12%. Gneiss and quartz. 55-60 year old vines. On lees for 9 months. White peachy on the nose with a bit of firestone; Lightness / delicacy again, near-medium body. Some sweetness to the core, apple and William pear. Freshness and sweetness with that attractive prickle on the tongue.
Pierre Luneau-Papin, Clos des Allées Vieilles Vignes 2011, Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine, sur lie.
12% schist. Vines over 45 years old. On lees for 7 months. Salty and peachy on nose, some real definition (as with others), very clean (as with others), fresh and round, really tasty. Good definition and intensity. Slight tangerine tang to the finish, adding cleanliness and precision. Good length.
Pierre Luneau-Papin, L d’Or 2011, Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine, sur lie.
Granite. ‘L’ is for Luneau. Vines more than 45 years old. On lees for one year. Nose reminiscent of lilac tree, with smooth, round, texture and characteristic defining prickle amid some big concentration. Clean, focused, slightly less salty, but still with that indefinable tang.
Pierre Luneau-Papin, L d’Or 1999, Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine, sur lie.
1999 was a sunny, warm vintage. Deep lemon colour. Aged, sous-bois leaf-mould nose and dry honeyed note. Supple palate attack, silky, nutmeg and cinnamon silhouettes amid poached apricot and peaches. Fresh mid-height acid core, with plushness to the mid palate. Delicious. Vg indeed.
Pierre Luneau-Papin, Terre de Pierre, 2010, Butte de la Roche, Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine, sur lie.
12%. Serpentinite (igneous). Vines more than 35 years. On lees for 12 months. Nutmeg-infused apricots on the nose and palate. Rich and round and plush with the mid-core freshness. Sort of a nucleus of acid that explodes the flavours softly in the mouth. Vg.
Pierre Luneau-Papin, Excelsior, Goulaine 2009, Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine
Communal cru. 12%. Micaschist. 77 year old vines. Three years on regularly stirred lees. Aromatically smoky nose, smooth, textured silky, firestone, some soft-steeliness, rounded, plush. Good concentration and intensity. Mellow and fresh/cleansing (not in a zesty way, but as though with a nucleus of freshness). Long. Vg.
Pierre Luneau-Papin, Excelsior, Goulaine 2006, Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine
Spicy as first nose, those aromatic fruit spices, star anise, nutmeg. Tastes younger. Acidity of 2006 gives it a fresher, tighter core. Creaminess just coming through here – fresh-cream infused with bergamot. Vg.
My visit to Nantes / Muscadet was sponsored by Vins de Loire.
