Jo Landron Muscadet Sevre et Maine Les Houx 2019

From a site with a little altitude, with a gravelly component to the soils, which Jo says is not common in the Muscadet region. The nose is softly composed, with fragrant notes of minty chalk. On the palate it feels broad and supple, with a sweetly polished texture, and a chalky presence which lends a touch of freshness to the midpalate’s plush breadth. A wine with minty lift and good grip, but most important of all in this warmer vintage it has some bright acidity as well. Fine potential here. 91-93 points, Chris Kissack, The Wine Doctor

Les Houx, in La Haye-Fouassière, is one of Landron’s oldest vineyards. The mature, low-yielding vines are rooted in shallow sandy/clay soils, rich in quartz and shot through with iron (which gives the wine a flinty nature), over a bedrock of gneiss and clay. It’s brilliant terroir that gives a denser, fleshier, more complex style of Muscadet. Although more opulent and layered than Landron’s other wines, the rocky, acid soils of this parcel impart a balancing freshness, even in warmer years.