Muscadet is made in the western part of France's Loire Valley, near the Atlantic Ocean, from the Melon de Bourgogne grape which, as its name implies, originated in Burgundy. Muscadet's best wines come from the subzone Muscadet Sevre-et-Maine, which are the names of the two rivers that run through the appellation.

Last year, during a weeklong trip in the Loire, I met Jo Landron, winemaker and owner of Domaine de la Louvetrie. Through a bushy mustache that looks like it was modeled on a time before razor blades or scissors were invented, Landron explained that in 1999 he transformed his vineyards to organic viticulture, and in 2002, he certified them through a European organic organization. In 2008, his vineyards were certified biodynamic. Avoiding chemical fungicides and herbicides, fertilizing with compost and using natural yeasts on the grape skins to start the fermentation are some of Landron's methods.

Landron makes different cuvees of Muscadet based on the soil composition of his vineyards. In May, I retasted the 2005 Le Fief du Breil; the initial tasting was at our spring 2008 meeting in the Loire. The vines for the 2005 Le Fief du Breil Muscadet are more than 35 years old and planted in chalk, silica and gneiss soils. After fermentation in traditional temperature-controlled, glass-lined cement vats, the wine is left to age on the lees (the spent yeast cells) for up to a year. This centuries-old winemaking technique of aging sur lie gives the otherwise bland Melon de Bourgogne grape additional complexity and body.

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