Lavie, "Denis" 2021

In the heart of the Muscadet appellation, in a tiny hamlet of a larger village called Les Hauts Mortiers a Gorges, there is the fifth generation biodynamic farm of Les Vins de Lavie, spread over about 10 hectares of vines planted almost exclusively to the specialty of this area, the sometimes magnificent & forever-underloved grape variety Melon de Bourgogne. A cool area south of the Loire River, the climate is very typical for the area - one defined by its proximity to the Atlantic ocean at this northerly point -- the wines almost always recall an imagined Atlantic churn. Ocean faring wines of sea spit, salt, and lime. Currently, the domaine is run by Guillaume Lavie, who went away, working in Savoie making wines under his name there for years before returning, and his partner Adèle Lemoine. Biodynamic farming and terroir transparency related to the various 'crus' of Muscadet across which they have vines (e.g. Clisson, Monnieres, Gorges) are the focus of their current project with Les Vins de Lavie, really only begun in earnest as of a few years ago upon return from the Savoie. Uber fresh, distinctly 'natural' wines from Muscadet have historically been difficult to find, given the cashcropping of high-acid, low-ABV 'oyster wines,' for which the area has long been overgeneralized -- yet, here they are, arriving not a moment too soon. Zero/zero Muscadet - who would've thought!

Loire Valley, France. 100% Melon de Bourgogne, vinified with wild yeasts and aged on the lees. Zero/zero.