INSIDER'S PICK: 2020 E.A.R.L. LA PEPIERE MUSCADET SEVRE ET MAINE BRIORDS CUVEE VIEILLES VIGNES $23.99

Even though we will not be doing the public tasting portion of the Insider's Pick until further notice, we will still be offering the wine for purchase with the usual 10% discount on Thursday and Friday. The wines will still be ones we highly recommend, and the tasting notes will still be our own. We will be returning to doing just the one wine on Thursdays and Fridays until further notice. We hope you are able to come by and get some wines to enjoy.

Anyone that has enjoyed the vastly improved quality of wines produced in the Muscadet region owe a debt of gratitude to Marc Ollivier and the wines of Pepiere. In the 80s when virtually all the wine in the region was made by co-operatives buying and blending fruit from all over, Domaine de la Pepiere was one of the very few making their own wines, and perhaps the first to be trying to elevate their wines into something a little more special. Identifying more unique soils and older vines to make more singular wines, extending the time on the lees during the time in tank before bottling to intensify the flavors, all things that take more effort than the general population thought the wines were worth. Now, most every Muscadet that's worth the time to export has some of those techniques involved in the making, and all for the better. Their Briords bottling (once labeled Clos du Briords) is one of their originals, from a single site of vines now approaching 50-70 years old; it isn't located within one of the 'Cru' areas of Muscadet, but is a site as distinct and important as any vineyard in the region. A clear green/gold in the glass, the aromas are all coastline and citrus, wet seashells and limes, oyster water and melon rind. It's one of the most 'of the sea' wines out there and why good ones like this draw comparison to Chablis. The lees aging gives the palate a lot of its weight and texture, making the acidity and salinity feel juicy and mouth-watering instead of hard edged. Muscadet in general is one of the great shellfish wines out there, this one just takes it to the next level.

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