2018 Le Fief du Breil

Certified organic (Ecocert) since 2002 and biodynamic (converted 2005). 30-52 year old vines planted at 6,800 vines/hectare in soils of orthogneiss and quartz from metamorphosed granite. Direct press of whole bunches in a pneumatic press; spontaneous ferment. Aged in glass-tiled concrete vats for 30 months on fine lees. This is not your usual Muscadet. There's a golden richness to it, a silky density and concentration that gives it weight and opulence, and marks it as something special. It feels like it's spent its years concentrating the sun on the stones it grew on, and flavouring it with the scent of the Atlantic ocean. It's intensely mineral, with a salinity so strong it's almost gripping; it's also lightly smoky, lightly earthy, and a touch animal, with a hint of lanolin that brings sheep and chenin to mind. The wine lasts – for minutes after each sip, for days on the counter – and it will last a decade or more in the cellar if you let it. But it will be hard to resist now, with a niçoise salad, or grilled scallops, or roast chicken or a mushroom risotto. Or truffled potato chips would do, too. (TQT)