Getting reacquainted with a Loire wine and a local wine seller (#Winophiles)

In past blog posts, I’ve sung the praises of my local wine retailer and recommended the value of finding one.

Well, for one reason or another, it’s been a minute since I’ve visited Carol’s wine shop. Actually, she moved to a new location in the time that elapsed. I was motivated to get reacquainted when the Winophiles blogging group decided on a Loire theme for this month. You see, Carol specializes in European wines. Better yet, she has tasted almost every wine in stock and only sells those she deems “delicious.”

I wandered into Carol’s shop on a Saturday afternoon when she typically opens selected bottles for customer tasting. From our email exchange earlier in the week, she knew I was on the hunt for Loire, so she pulled out a few bottles. One was a Muscadet Sèvre et Maine. I immediately waxed nostalgic for this signature wine from the Pays Nantais district of the Loire. Four years had gone by. Why had it been so long?

“I have another Muscadet in the fridge,” Carol announced. “I’ll get it for you.”

“Oh, 2019,” I noted skeptically as I examined the Château l’Oiselinière de la Ramée. Barrel-aged reds stand up to time in bottle, but whites? Not so much. Though this one, like most Muscadet, was aged sur lie (on its spent yeast cells). Maybe…

“When are you planning to open it?” Carol asked.

“This weekend,” I replied.

“How about if we open and taste it together now?” she suggested. “I’ll give you a deep discount.”

The discount was unimportant to me – I simply loved her idea! Sounded like even more fun when a nearby customer heard our conversation and wanted to taste, too.

Carol popped the cork and poured. We sniffed. Nose was intact and showed no signs of having turned to vinegar. Next up, the taste. Lovely – with mineral and citrus notes. Sold!

Muscadet, not Muscat

To set the record straight, the grape for this wine is 100% Melon de Bourgogne. It is unrelated to the Muscat family of grapes. Nor does it have anything to do with melons. Though Burgundy was its original home long ago, Melon de Bourgogne is now grown along the banks of the Sèvre and Maine rivers in the Pays Nantais.

In this cool, maritime climate of the western Loire, abutting the Atlantic Ocean, Melon de Bourgogne has found a happy home. Early budding and vigorous, Melon de Bourgogne is generally high in acidity but can be rather bland. Winemakers adjust for this shortcoming through extended time sur lie or even barrel aging. This results in more complex wines that are capable of some aging in bottle.

Château l’Oiselinière is a small (25-acre) vineyard that has been in the Chéreau family since 1960. The vineyard is located near the village of Vertou, where the Sèvre and Maine rivers meet. The vines here are planted on a sunny, south-facing “orthogneiss dome,” consisting of schist and other soils having a mineral composition similar to granite. Château l’Oiselinière de la Ramée is produced from a 20-acre plot of 40-year-old vines. The owners practice organic farming, though they are not certified organic.

All the Melon de Bourgogne grapes are picked by hand. Fermentation is done with native yeasts in stainless-steel tanks. After that, the wine is aged for six months sur lie in underground concrete vats with regular bâtonnage, followed by 12 months aging in bottle before release. (Source)

The pairing

Classically, this wine screams for oysters. Last time we paired a Muscadet, the spouse and I obliged the wine. He painstakingly shucked and I prepared the oysters. You can read all about the arduous undertaking here. This time, I determined the wine would have to play nicely with any fish we served.

Our choice was orange roughy, a mild white fish that takes on the character of whatever spices and sauces are used with it. Spouse sprinkled on a blend of spices and grilled the fish. I mixed up a cocktail sauce (1/2 cup ketchup, ¼ cup Sriracha, 2 tsp. lemon and 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce) for both the roughy and the crabcakes we bought at Whole Foods as an appetizer. Also on the menu was tortellini salad with homemade Italian dressing. (I modified both recipes based on ingredients I had on hand.)

Despite some spiciness, the Muscadet handled the pairing quite well.

The wine opens to beautiful aromas of white flowers, nectarine and pineapple. The palate has a soft feel and a blend of flavors consisting of ripe grapefruit, pineapple and bitter (but not tart) lemon, and a mineral note. It’s quite the pretty wine and a bargain at $16 retail. Not too alcoholic either – only 12%.

 What else are the Winophiles serving up this month for the Loire theme? Check it out!

• Terri from Our Good Life shares “A Perfect Pairing: Sancerre Les Baronnes Henri Bourgeois with Creamed Spinach-Stuffed Chicken Breasts”
• Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm shares “Coq au Vin Blanc and a Sancerre from Loire Valley”
• Camilla from Culinary Cam shares “Melon de Bourgogne: Its Journey to Muscadet and an Array of Autumn Pairings”
• David at Cooking Chat shares “Vouvray Wine and Food Pairings”
• Jeff at Food Wine Click! shares “Pork and Apples with Château Soucherie Savennières”