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Sauvion
“Muscadet Sèvre et Maine”
Melon de Bourgogne
Founded in 1935, Sauvion is one of the oldest estates in the Sèvre-et-Maine region and has been called “undoubtedly the best-known Muscadet producer” by Robert Parker. The Sauvion home, Château du Cléray, is the winery’s flagship and is situated in the heart of Nantes. Sauvion’s winemaker is third-generation vintner Pierre-Jean Sauvion.
Before we continue, we need to take a minute to establish a few key principles of this wine and its region.
First and foremost: Muscadet is the region, not the grape.
If you’ll recall from our Wine 101 Training, this falls into the “Old World Style” of classification and labeling, of which France as a country was and still is a leader in wine culture and philosophy.
AOC (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée) Muscadet falls within Pays-Nantais district, which itself is a part of the larger Loire Valley wine region. Within AOC Muscadet, there are three sub-regions:
Muscadet Côtes de Grandlieu
Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire
Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine (the most important appellation, accounting for roughly 75-80% of all Muscadet production in both volume and quality)
Muscadet is pronounced “muss-kuh-day”
The Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine extends over some twenty communes (towns) south-east of the city of Nantes. The region takes its name from the two rivers that cross the countryside: the Sèvre Nantaise and the Maine.
The Muscadet Sèvre et Maine AOC is one of the oldest in France, dating back to 1936. It is the largest regional appellation in the Nantes vineyards in terms of surface area and production volume: 4,500 hectares, 350 winegrowers. It straddles the Sèvre and Maine rivers, the last two tributaries of the Loire before its mouth opening into the Atlantic Ocean.
The The Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (INAO) was established in 1935 to manage the AOC system. On May 15, 1936, French President Albert Lebrun signed the first six decrees for wine AOCs into law. The designations, published in the Official Journal on May 17, were (in order of their appearance in the journal) Arbois, Tavel, Cognac, Cassis, Monbazillac, and Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The Muscadet Sèvre et Maine AOC was approved later that same year, in November 1936 — almost a full year before the broader Muscadet AOC was approved, in September 1937.
So, if Muscadet is the region, what the heck is the grape? Melon de Bourgogne (or, simply, Melon).
Melon de Bourgogne (the Muscadet grape) originally came to the Loire Valley from Burgundy (though there is some argument among historians). It is a child of Pinot Noir and the nearly extinct Gouais Blanc and is related to Chardonnay, Gamay Noir, Auxerrois, and Aligoté (among a few others).
It grows well in cool climate marine areas and, because of this, Melon has been planted experimentally in regions such as the Puget Sound AVA (next to Seattle, WA) and the Willamette Valley AVA in places like the Van Duzer Corridor that receive cool breezes.
The climate in Muscadet Sèvre et Maine is temperate and oceanic, with a reduced temperature range between seasons. The amount of sunshine varies significantly yearly, dramatically influencing the quality of the vintages and the acid taste in wines. The soils of Nantes’ vineyards are mainly made up of gneiss, orthogneiss, granite, schist and gabbro. They retain little water due to their depth and texture and have good warming capabilities and drainage, which is reflected in the quality of wines. Due to all of these factors, the grapes are left on the vine until they have reached full ripeness, and they are vinified dry.
These wines are for those who love anything-but-fruity wines. They are lean, green, and have a fascinating almost saline-like quality to the taste. In fact, the Muscadet vineyards closer to the sea receive more of this salty note due to salty sea breezes. Sauvion’s estate location harmonizes salinity with citrus and stone fruit freshness. It is common to see these wines aged on the lees (labeled “sur lie”) which is a process of aging wines on suspended dead yeast particles (called lees). Lees-aged Muscadet attain an almost lager-like taste with a creamy texture and yeasty flavor. The longer on lees, the richer the texture; many producers will age their best wines 2–3 years in this fashion. You will find a touch of fruit in these wines in the form of almost pithy citrus flavors and subtle unripe apple or pear notes.
The Sauvion family has called the Château du Cléray home since Ernest Sauvion purchased it in 1935. The property’s legacy precedes the Sauvion family, however, as one of the oldest vigneron sites in the Sèvre et Maine region. Current-generation proprietor-winemaker Pierre-Jean Sauvion has been a champion of the Muscadet style, firmly establishing both the regional typicity and his family’s name as international icons. Currently, Sauvion exports more than 60% of their production to over 80 countries around the world.
Fun Fact: Muscadet is the original white wine in beurre blanc sauce (white wine butter sauce). The perfectly emulsified sauce was invented by Chef Clémence Lefeuvre in the early 1900’s at her restaurant La Buvette de la Marine close to Nantes, France. Chef Lefeuvre said she had intended to make sauce bearnaise but forgot to add egg and tarragon. Beurre blanc is now a standard in French cuisine.
Muscadet will happily stand up to zesty vinaigrettes and other high-acidity dressings. However, Muscadet’s true calling is matched with seafood, particularly if you’re a fan of bivalves (mussels, oysters, and the like). In Nantes, a favorite regional dish, called Moules Frites, is made by flash cooking mussels in a splash of Muscadet wine and tossing them with shallots and green herbs and French fries.
100% Melon de Bourgogne
2020 vintage
AOC Muscadet Sèvre et Maine
35 year old vines planted in sandy- granitic soil
Fermented and aged in stainless steel
Aged 5 months on the lees (sur lie)
This is not the lengthiest amount of time, but it does add some complexity
RS: 1g/L
pH: 3.4 (moderately acidic)
ABV: 11.9% (moderate-low)
tasting notes: On the nose, the wine features delicate aromas of citrus bolstered by flint and salinity. On the palate, the wine is light bodied but with a hint of creaminess from lees contact, rich minerality, lively acidity and a complex finish.
Food Pairing: Pair this lighter bodied wine with lighter bodied dishes. Use the acidity to cut through creamier, richer dishes, especially creamy, aged goat cheese like camembert, or pair with your favorite seafood dishes, especially with raw, fresh oysters or white wine mussels.