2019 Jo Landron Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Les Houx, Loire Valley

Les Houx, in La Haye-Fouassière, is one of Landron’s oldest vineyards. The mature, low-yielding vines are rooted in shallow sandy/clay soils, rich in quartz and shot through with iron (which gives the wine a flinty nature), over a bedrock of gneiss and clay. It's brilliant terroir that gives a denser, fleshier, more complex style of Muscadet. Although more opulent and layered than Landron’s other wines, the rocky, acid soils of this parcel impart a balancing freshness, even in warmer years. 

Harvested by hand and fermented with wild yeasts, the wine aged on its lees for 12-14 months before bottling. Its dense, structured, and lingering palate delivers textural stone fruits interwoven with the smoky mineral signature of these sandstone soils. It’s a dynamic Muscadet that goes far beyond the “drink with oysters” cliché, so match it with substantial fish or white meat dishes that call for something savoury and mineral.

From a site with a little altitude, with a gravelly component to the soils, which Jo says is not common in the Muscadet region. The nose is softly composed, with fragrant notes of minty chalk. On the palate it feels broad and supple, with a sweetly polished texture, and a chalky presence which lends a touch of freshness to the midpalate’s plush breadth. A wine with minty lift and good grip, but most important of all in this warmer vintage it has some bright acidity as well. Fine potential here.

91-93 points Chris Kissack thewinedoctor.com