When looking for affordable mineral driven whites, wine professionals most often reach for Muscadet. And when available, the producer we reach for is Domaine de la Pépière.

Since 1985 Marc Olivier, proprietor of Pépière, has been producing organically farmed, single-vineyard and single-cru bottlings since before anyone knew what those were let alone what Muscadet was. But Marc has long believed that Melon de Bourgogne (the grape that makes Muscadet) can be more complex and indeed age-worthy than the simple, bistro wine that tourists in France wash down oysters with.

In order to achieve this Marc has farmed organically since the beginning. The different plots he chooses are selected for their varying degrees of decomposing granite and gneiss. Vines are old for Muscadet, varying from 20-100 years old. All work in the vineyard is done by hand and the yields are kept low to ensure the highest quality fruit. All of these things are rare in Muscadet.

Marc's cellar is very cold. The grapes are pressed whole-cluster and that cold cellar allows for a long slow fermentation with native yeast and very minimal sulfur. Aging is done Sur Lie (on the dead yeast) in large underground tanks. This step is crucial as it increases the texture and complexity of the Melon. The wines are bottled, unfined and unfiltered.

While Marc’s single vineyard bottles are very impressive, he makes the best appellation blend in all of Muscadet. La Pépie is crafted from estate fruit as well as purchased fruit from local farmers that Marc has shepherded through organic conversation. The plots span all of Pépière's terroirs which are located on the slopes above the Maine River with granitic subsoil for the vines closest to the river while those further up the slope live on gneiss.

La Pépie is made exactly like all of Marc’s Muscadet. It is racy, crisp, acid and mineral driven; beautifully balanced by a hint of richness from the sur lie factor. A perfect encapsulation of Marc’s exceptional terroir as well as Pépière’s precise and clean, natural winemaking style. 

Domaine de la Pépière, Muscadet “La Pépie,” 2022 $17.99