Arnaud's Wine Recommendation for April

Why I love this Wine?

This gorgeous Sèvre-et-Maine organically farmed and aged 10 months on its lees shows everything I would look for when sipping white wines: freshness, texture and complexity. A perfect Muscadet to drink on its own but also big enough with its ripe fruits to handle refine seafood with buttery sauce, and goat cheese. Delightful!

Domaine Luneau Papin, stemming from the 17^th century now in its 9^th generation incarnation is a certified organic and bio-dynamic producer, factors that are indicators of excellence but no guarantee.  In the case of this Domaine, we can confirm that their Muscadets comfortably occupy the space of ‘Best in Class’,  in our view their Muscadets are as good as they get.  Pierre Luneau-Papin and his wife Marie now carry the baton for the family as they carefully etch out the Melon de Bourgogne grapes from their historic, site-specific vineyards and craft their highly acclaimed wines.

“Our distinction at Luneau-Papin is that we work parcel by parcel, terroir by terroir. You can't claim terroir if you don't highlight the link between the soil, the vegetal state of the vines and its surrounding environment. This means working the soil so we don't have to use herbicides anymore; to create a more natural place for the soil and the vines. In France, an entire property has to be converted to get an organic certification. You have five years to convert, and today 15 of our hectares are completely organic."
-Pierre and Marie Luneau-Papin. 

Award / Review

This important cuvée comes from a vineyard planted in 1954, bedrock of gneiss and quartz, in the village of La Chapelle Heulin. Bedrock of gneiss and quartz. This intense mouth-filling expression of the Melon de Bourgogne was aged on its lees for 10 months adding extra texture and depth. A triumph when served with Langoustines, ceviche of scallops, salt crusted sea bass, fresh goat’s cheese.

"This is a special wine that takes Muscadet to a whole new level. Delicious textured ripe fruits with a very fine mouth-watering acidity. Serve with seared scallops with butter and lemon, or grilled brill with a herby"
-The Irish Times, John Wilson, July 10th 2021

Wine Details