La Tour Gallus - Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine Cru Gorges 2016

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the wine:

The 2016 Gorges offers a refreshing and lively bouquet with aromas of lemon, pear, herbs, iodine, and spring flowers. On the palate, the wine has a moderately full-bodied, flinty texture that, combined with a taut mid-palate, concludes with a well-defined profile. I particularly appreciate the mineral and luscious finish. It is a great wine at the peak of its form today.

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the wine:

Gorges 2016 stands out from the crowd: this vintage was aged on its lees for 76 months before bottling. A Muscadet of beautiful intensity, developing without excess and structured by lingering bitter notes on the finish. Its profile, characterized more by refined persistence than opulence, promises excellent aging potential.

About the estate:

Damien Rineau is so low-key that he slipped under the radar of our tastings for years. Descended from a lineage of nine generations of winemakers—as evidenced by the endless family tree at the base of a vine hanging on the wall of his cellar—this native of the Nantes region has been crafting Muscadets of great classicism since the 1980s. His vineyard is located in Gorges, a unique spot where the extremely rare dark blue compact rock, gabbro, nurtures the white melon grape. The wines born here are not the most approachable upon opening; they need time to unfold. They start off discreetly and develop into a magnificent, bitter-edged structure. Damien cultivates this style, particularly in his Gorges, which has remarkable aging potential (over twenty years). In traditional underground vats, his 2016 was aged on lees for… 72 months! The estate has been sold to Thierry Denjean, owner of Domaine de Haute Perche in Anjou and Vin de l’A in the Swiss Valais, but Damien Rineau will remain in his position for a few more years.