PV Tasting Notes
Pale yellow, very intense, focused aromas of orchard and citrus fruits, herbs and amazing mineral piquancy. This is stunning, insistent and spectacularly juicy, sea salt and fruit, oyster shell and nectarine, toasted nuts and apple, melon and lime. The flavours pairing’s just keep on coming and building, the finish is breathtaking, it’s still a touch nervy and will benefit with a year or so in bottle, but “what a wine” this has 20-30 years of aging ahead of it, my distinct impression was this is the finest Muscadet I have ever tasted. Marc Ollivier continues to turn out some of the world’s finest wines, for very little money.
Independent Review92 Points Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate, 2010
The Pepiere 2009 Muscadet de Sevre et Maine Sur Lie Gras Mouton is an exceptionally vigorous and mineral-dominated but also spare wine for its vintage. It even smells predominantly - if discreetly and ineffably - of things mineral. (There's also a faint though not unpleasant smokiness imparted by the branding on the bottom of the cork, a phenomenon I occasionally experience, but more noticeable in a wine of such stark clarity as this.) But once it reaches your palate, hang on! Saliva-inducingly, strongly saline, with ashen as well as seemingly crystalline mineral diversity, this lays down nearly indelible traces, all the while almost electrically enlivened by insistent fresh apple and lemon with a hint of its oily, bitter rind. I suspect it will perform formidably over the next 4-5 years. And incidentally, among the current crop of Ollivier releases, this held up best of all from the open bottle - for more than a week until I just couldn't stand tasting it any longer and drained the remainder.
Mark Ollivier Pepiere is one of the most consistently outstanding sources of Muscadet and as such a purveyor of some of the wine world's most outstanding values, not to mention a grower constantly striving to reach new levels of excellence, as the wines at hand irrefutably demonstrate. This vigneron is on a roll! Incidentally, after obtaining in time for the 2008 vintage a small parcel in the Gras Moutons vineyard - a gneiss contrast with his own granitic base - Ollivier relinquished the contract for the parcel that had informed his Cuvee Eden.
A few years ago, I introduced to the UK Market Marc Ollivier and his World Class Wines..... I wrote
So much has been written about Marc Ollivier of Domaine de la Pépière, long regarded as “the Legend” of the Muscadet producers, when Marc is on form, and he has been for a very long time, these hand crafted wines are of World Class quality, this heroic vigneron does in Muscadet with old vines, granite soils and low yield what others can only dream of in much more seriously expensive appellations. All of Marc’s wines are the authentic item, not only are they delicious young, but can age for 10, 20 and even 30 years. An astonishing achievement for white wines of any price bracket but these beauties are what can only be described as selling for virtually a song.
Muscadet is certainly one of the great underrated wine regions of France and quite possibly the most complex, age worthy white wine you can purchase for sub £10, all of Marc’s wines are left in contact with the lees until the time of bottling, something of a rarity now as most winemakers rush to bottle their wines as soon as possible. Whilst many boring Muscadet examples on the market are technically correct with producers using starter yeasts to accelerate fermentation together with other techniques to finish their wines early, they mostly lack the heart and soul of the Domaine de la Pépière wines. All Pépière wines are hand harvested, another rarity of the region, uses only natural yeast and waits patiently until the wines are ready. This extended contact with the lees provides extra flavour, body and a crispness that makes Muscadet so refreshing, and of course the classic match to seafood together with the perfect choice for Sushi.
The Pépière vineyards range from 40 to 80 years of age, Marc Ollivier is the only grower of the region who does not have a single clonal selection in his vineyards, which are located on a plateau overlooking the river Sèvre. Because of the soil and greater concentration achieved with through lower yielding old vines, his are more powerful wines than most other Muscadet. They are very mineral and quite austere in their youth, rather than fruity and light. Over a few months, or even years, if one can wait for it, they develop much complexity in aromatics and structure. So if you’re on a quest to find some interesting wines that aren’t over extracted, over oaked, over produced and over-priced, do work wonderfully with food, do resemble the very best selections of the region, lower in alcohol and are affordable for frequent enjoyment, then perhaps our selection of Pépière Muscadet are the choice for you, as quite a few of our regular clients are finding out.
Available now....
2009 Les Gras Mouton | Muscadet Sèvre et Maine | Cuvée Vieilles Vignes
Pale yellow, very intense, focused aromas of orchard and citrus fruits, herbs and amazing mineral piquancy. This is stunning, insistent and spectacularly juicy, sea salt and fruit, oyster shell and nectarine, toasted nuts and apple, melon and lime. The flavours pairing’s just keep on coming and building, the finish is breathtaking, it’s still a touch nervy and will benefit with a year or so in bottle, but “what a wine” this has 20-30 years of aging ahead of it, my distinct impression was this is the finest Muscadet I have ever tasted. Marc Ollivier continues to turn out some of the world’s finest wines, for very little cost.