Dutch traders introduced the Melon grape to the region from Burgundy in the 1600s. They wanted grapes for distilling, and the city of Nantes was within ready reach of their boats. An extreme winter in 1709 wiped out the red varieties then locally grown and thereafter Melon came to rule the region. Today, there are four appellations in Muscadet, and Muscadet S?vre et Maine AC is the best and by far the largest (this AC produces more wine than any other in the Loire Valley). Most of its wine is, unfortunately, forgettable. The fact is there are wines of revelation made here, wines that are soft yet shockingly vigorous, imbued with scents of bread, lemon freshness, and sea salt minerality?a palette of aromas that in the better renditions follows through in the mouth with intensity and length. Melon de Bourgogne is a white cousin to Gamay, and like Gamay it can be easy, it can be delicious, and it can surprise. The best Muscadets are some of the world?s best white wine values. Among the small cadre of committed growers?and it is a small cadre?Claude Branger ranks among the top. His domaine of La Haute F?vrie is in Madison, and he is a member of Terra Vitis, an organization that sets guidelines for sustainable farming and monitors its members? practices to ensure quality control. Claude prunes for low yields, harvests by hand (a rarity in this land of machine harvesting), and lets his wine rest on its lees until bottling, which is done without fining and with a light filtration?the classic sur lie technique. It?s this technique that gives good Muscadet its freshness and lift. Contrary to popular opinion, Muscadet is not, if allowed to ripen properly, naturally high in acid; it?s the lees contact and the resulting CO2 gas that give the wine its crisp spice and zest.
