Domaine de la Pépière Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie 'La Pépie' 2023

Country: France

Region: Loire

Type: White Wine

Grape: Melon de Bourgogne

Domaine de la Pépière is one of the top estates in the Muscadet, run by Mark Olivier. Olivier harvests by hand and makes wine naturally, with zero pesticides, extended lees aging, and minimal intervention in the winemaking process, which is rare in Muscadet. 

The La Pépie cuvée is a blend of estate fruit from all of Pépière's terroirs, 50% of which fall within the Muscadet Sèvre & Maine appellation and 50% within the crus. Soils are sandy and granite-based. Farming is organic and harvesting is done by hand, as for all of the estate vines. As with the rest of the Pepière Muscadet wines, the fruit is direct-pressed and the juice settled naturally for 12 hours. It is then fermented in stainless steel tanks with natural yeasts. The wine is aged on its lees in large, underground vats until bottling. Wines are unfined and unfiltered, with moderate to very little sulfur used.

This wine is racy, crisp, acid- and mineral-driven, with a bare hint of richness from the sur lie factor, very much indicative of Pépière's granite-based terroir and clean, natural winemaking style.