Tipple of the Month – June 2017

Published on: 2 Jun, 2017
Updated on: 2 Jun, 2017

Jeremy Blood of the Surrey Wine School

Jeremy Blood from the Guildford based Surrey Wine School reveals this month’s locally available “Tipple of the Month”.

If you’re looking for white wines from the Loire Valley you may be tempted towards wines made from either Sauvignon Blanc or Chenin Blanc. Both grapes are native to the area and are famous in regions such as Sancerre and Vouvray.

Now however is a good time to look elsewhere in the Loire and try some of the refreshing and tasty wines made in the Muscadet regions around the city of Nantes.

There are a number of Muscadet appellation d’origine controlee’s (AOC) but the two you are most likely to encounter are from the Muscadet AOC and the Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie AOC, although one of my choices is from the more highly regarded area of Le Pallet.

The other name of the Muscadet grape is Melon De Bourgogne and it was likely to have been brought to the Loire from Burgundy in order to produce locally distilled brandy.

At the Muscadet AOC level wines are easy to drink, dry and can be consumed in their first couple of years. The Sur Lie (meaning on lees) wines often have a tiny amount of trapped carbon dioxide, which gives them a bit of spritz and also lends a slightly creamy soft weight to the wine’s body that nicely balances the acidity.

Taste the Difference Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie (Sainsbury’s £7.00) refreshing citrus aromas balanced with a spritzy and nutty finish. This crisp dry wine has fresh lemony and apple characters. Try it with oysters!

Muscadet 2012/2014 Le Pallet (Majestic Wine £11.99 as part of a “mix 6 deal”) A rare wine from one of the three “Cru” villages in the area. This has more brioche notes and more ripe apple aromas. A lovely golden colour and rich texture makes this a great wine for pairing with weightier foods like salmon.

Surrey Wine School is hosting a French Cheese + Wine Tasting on Friday 16th June at 7pm for full details and booking go to www.surreywineschool.com, or call: 01306 898569 or 07436 072518.