Domaine Ménard-Gaborit Accostage 2022, Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, Organic

Accostage is a Muscadet Sèvre et Maine from Domaine Ménard-Gaborit, a family estate at Monnières, near Nantes. Its vineyards surround the Moulin de la Minière, one of the highest points in the Sèvre et Maine, on rocky, stony soils. The wine is made entirely from Melon de Bourgogne, from low-yielding older vines. The soils are ploughed and no synthetic products are used in the vineyard. The wine ferments with native yeasts and then spends eight months on its lees, without racking, in underground concrete tanks lined with glass tiles, as is traditional in the Nantes vineyard. This lees ageing gives the wine its texture and fresh, gently prickly character.

In the glass it is a bright, pale yellow with green highlights. The nose is fresh and discreet, with white flowers, an iodine, sea-air note and hints of peach and nectarine. The palate opens with a slight spritz, then shows white fruit, citrus and green apple, with the saline minerality typical of the appellation and a crisp, refreshing finish.

Serve chilled, at around 8–10°C. Accostage is made for seafood: oysters, moules marinières, grilled sardines and white fish. It is also an excellent aperitif. Domaine Ménard-Gaborit Accostage is best enjoyed young, while it is at its freshest.

Domaine Ménard-Gaborit is a family estate in the hamlet of La Minière, near Monnières in the Muscadet Sèvre et Maine. The Ménard family has made wine here since 1734, and François Ménard and his wife Pauline, the sixth generation of winegrowers, now run the domaine. They returned in 2019 after gaining experience in Burgundy and further afield. The vineyards lie around the Moulin de la Minière, one of the highest points in the appellation, mostly on siliceous clay over gneiss. Melon de Bourgogne makes up the great majority of the plantings. The estate is farmed organically. It uses plant oils and biodynamic preparations to cut back on copper, grazes animals between the rows, and is planting trees and hedges as part of an agroforestry project.