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

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, culminates in a well-defined profile. I particularly appreciate the mineral and luscious finish. It is a great wine at the peak of its form today.

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

Damien Rineau is so low-key that he flew under the radar of our tastings for years. Coming from a lineage of nine generations of winemakers—as evidenced by his endless family tree, drawn at the base of a vine and hung 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 area where the extremely rare, compact, dark-blue rock—gabbro—nurtures the Melon Blanc grape. The wines produced here aren’t the most approachable when first opened; you have to let them breathe. They begin with a subtle attack and gradually develop into a magnificent, bitter 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.