Vignoble Drouard Noe Les Trois Terroirs Muscadet Sur Lie Sevre & Maine

Domaine de la Noe has a history dating back over 100 years. In 1870, the Drouard family planted new vines in small holdings near the Noe' brook, shortly after the phylloxera epidemic devastated the vineyards of France. Over the following years, to the present day, the Domaine has grown and modernised, now comprising 60 hectares and modern winemaking facilities, to produce the finest possible wines. Muscadet is having a resurgence thankfully, spurred on by cracking examples such as this one.

Melon De Bourgogne,

For "Les Trois Venoirs", (the three terroirs), the Melon de Bourgogne grapes are carefully harvested from vines averaging 35 years old grown on 3 distinct soils: predominantly sandy soils, granitic rock with 2 micas. Sandy silty soil, metamorphic ortho gneiss rock. Sandy silty soil, siliceous rock in the process of disintegrating with flint slabs.

After harvest the grapes are lightly pressed and fermented in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks. The wines spend an extended period of time on the lees before bottling, without racking or filtration.

The wine is a lovely, pale yellow colour with a very slight touch of gold. On the nose it is refreshing and elegant, with lemon citrus notes, lime and slightly richer notes of hazelnut and that characteristic yeasty flavour from being left on the lees. It is very elegant on the palate and aromatic. There is more citrus notes, lemon flesh and lime peel, with a long and lingering finish. A richness from being left to mature sur lie is very evident. A slightly fizzy finish to the wine adding further lightness.

Chilled down, this is the perfect accompaniement to any relaxed occaison from BBQ to picnic. Food wise this is pretty versatile but think French bistro fare especially Moules marinière with cream, garlic and parsley!

Nolan - Many people love a nice, cold, refreshing glass of white wine, it is genuinly one of the great pleasures in life. The go to choice for many people is a Pinot Grigio or a Sauvignon Blanc and I just don't get it when there are wines like Muscadet available. Muscadet is about as refreshing as you can get. Its crisp with a bracing acidity, the definition of a refreshing wine. On Sur lie examples such as this, you also get a lovely salty and yeasty tang that just adds interest. The combination of the lip smacking acidity and that salty bite is alluring, it draws you in, inviting you to take a second sip. And then another glass. Three bottles in you start to realise that the Moules Marinare is still just raw shelfish and you've drank all your cooking wine. C'est la vie.