2021 Jo Landron Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Amphibolite, Loire Valley

Biodynamic. One of Landron’s emblematic cuvées, Amphibolite, takes its name from the greenish, metamorphic bedrock (amphibolite) where this wine is grown. Produced from vines aged between 35 and 40 years, this was vinified with only a short period on lees, as Jo Landron wants to retain as much freshness and minerality as possible.“It’s a free-spirited-muscadet,” he says. Only minor doses of sulphur are used to block malolactic conversion. Bottling without filtration occurs early (in March) to retain the wine’s earth-to-glass essence. 

With some lovely textural padding this year, it’s an ultra-pure, racy expression of Muscadet loaded with white floral notes and all kinds of citrus underpinned by the briny, iodine minerality that is a hallmark of this cuvée. Sculpted and steely, it’s all salted apple and spring flower, penetrating acidity binding the mouthwatering tension to the wine’s well-honed texture. A Landron classic!