2020 Domaine de la Pepiere La Pepie Merci Muscadet Sevre et Maine [JG90]

Producer: Domaine de la Pepiere Region: Muscadet, Loire, France  Varietal: Melon de Bourgogne Year: 2020  John Gilman, 90 Points  "Domaine de la Pépière The 2020 Muscadet “la Pépie” from Domaine de la Pépière is the first vintage where Marc Ollivier is officially retired and has left the estate in the hands of the next generation of proprietors, Rémi Branger and Gwénaëlle Croix. Of course, this transition has been long in the making, as Rémi started working with Marc in 2006 and became a partner in 2011 and Gwen started here in 2011 and became a partner in 2014, so things have long been in place in anticipation for this day. The la Pépie bottling is made from all of the estate’s production that does not go into one of its cru bottlings, augmented by a bit of judiciously purchased fruit from neighbors who farm “seriously”. The 2020 version is a fine bottle, offering up a bright and wide open bouquet of breadfruit, wet stone minerality, a nice touch of ocean breeze salinity and a topnot