Famille Lieubeau, Muscadet Serve et Maine La Confluent 2022

Their Confluent cuvee is a single vineyard plot selection from gneiss soils situated, as the name would suggest, between the two great rivers Sèvre and Maine. The Gneiss vineyards here are the geographical and historical heart of Muscadet. Aged for around 9 months sur lie, 1/3 longer than the appellation norm, this has so much more fruit and presence than your average Muscadet, without losing a textbook maritime salinity on the finish. Versatile and yet not simple. In short, hugely drinkable and satisfying. Organically certified as of the 2018 vintage.

Pierre and Chantal Lieubeau started their Domaine in 1982 with just 5ha in Chateau Thebaud, right in the heart of the Muscadet appellation. Today that estate has grown to 70ha through the acquisition of a wonderful array of old vine parcels, whose low yields lend concentration to the top Cru bottlings. Their aim is to make wines that are food friendly, terroir driven and age-worthy - a far cry from the generic and rather anodyne Muscadet that we so often see on the market.