There’s life in these old bones, yet!

You can’t beat an aged Muscadet of baffling the hell out of even the most seasoned wine wankers! A Chrissy break-up options games turned up a fourteen year Muscadet (Sevre et Main ‘Sur Lie’) that had tasters scratching their pates in confused smugness: this bottle was strikingly fresh with real physique - a touch of brine & dough on the nose and a mineral-driven character that lingers in the mouth and provides a framework for a background of sweet grapefruits. So well preserved (a ripe vintage (?) to provide requisite fruit to age alongside the towering acidity), we were not even close to the vintage despite getting close to the stylistic source.

Its bloody brilliant and another vinous revelation. Im going to try and source some from the domain and perhaps cellar some cases of the 2007 for a museam (another ripe vintage) from the same producer for this was none other than a 1995 Chateau du Cleray.

In the Press (Keller, Cleray)

Gourmet Traveller Wine, Dec/Jan 2010

2007 Château du Cléray Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine Sur Lie, Loire Valley (France)
Muscadet is definitely a wine for drinking, not tasting! Made from the melon de Bourgogne grape (nothing to do with muscat!), it has a palish colour, both chalky/mineral and wet-wool aspects to its aroma, and a tangy, lip-smacking acidity. This one is perhaps less austere than some, with better softness and less sulphur. It’s balanced, properly dry and very enjoyable, especially with a simple omelette made with onions, bacon and mushrooms. HH

2008 Keller Trocken Riesling, Rheinhessen (Germany)
This comes from one of Germany’s warmer regions, the Rheinhessen, where drier-style riesling should be easier to make than in colder places like the Mosel. It’s a lovely drink: the fragrance is floral, herbal and faintly honeyed with a hint of struck-flint adding to its complexity. In the mouth it’s intense, steely and very fine, with just a trace of sweetness, finishing perfectly clean. It’s a seamless, harmonious riesling with nothing out of place. Drink it now and for five or six more years. HH

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