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

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the wine:

The 2016 Gorges presents a refreshing, lively bouquet with aromas of lemon, pear, herbs, iodine and spring flowers. On the palate, the wine has a moderately weighted, flinty texture that, combined with a taut mid-palate, concludes with a chiseled profile. I particularly appreciate the mineral, gourmet finish. This 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 has a head start: this cru was aged for 76 months on its lees before bottling. A Muscadet of fine intensity, evolving without overflow and structured by insistent bitters on the finish. Its construction, more fine persistence than opulence, promises great ageing potential.

About the domain :

Damien Rineau is so discreet that he's flown under the radar of our tastings for years. He comes from a line of nine generations of winegrowers, as evidenced by his endless vine-covered family tree hanging on the wall of his cellar. Since the 1980s, this child of the Pays nantais region has been chiseling out classic Muscadets. His vineyard is located in Gorges, a specific area where the rare dark-blue compact rock, gabbro, is home to white melon. The wines born here are not the most amiable on opening; you have to let them come, they attack discreetly and profile themselves up to a magnificent bitter carrure. Damien cultivates this style, particularly in his Gorges, with its remarkable ageing 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 region, but Damien Rineau will remain in charge for a few more years.