Reading about old Muscadet

Don Rice

Don Rice
I've been meaning to get these texts up for a while now, but the whole scanning and html thing can become an obstacle.

Some like muscadet young, some like it old.
This discussion is nothing new, as these texts will suggest.

Among other things, Camiran (1937) discusses various vintages and how they held up.
Picoron (1999) has recorded a vertical tasting conducted in 1992.

(I for one would liked to have tasted that 1868 referred to by Camiran.)
Please forgive the lack of English translation - very busy workweek

camiran.jpg

Camiran 1937 (click cover to read pp.93-98)

picoron.jpg
Picoron 1999 (click cover to read pp.66-67)
 
Nice read, thanks again. I wonder what 14% muscadet is like. Also interesting is the comment on closure - wax essential for wines cellared longer than 10 years.

Is Joseph Marc's father? Are there still good Nantais eaux de vie?
 
Glad you enjoyed it, Ian. Don't know about how closely the Olliviers are related at the two estates - curious though, huh?

I wonder if anyone in the appellation still uses wax above the cork ? - Always tricky/messy to open. In any case I would disagree that it's required if a wine is going longer than ten years.

As for the 14% freak vintage - would that be Californication? (shudder)
I'd rather see it vinified off-dry as in 1928 (I think that year had many off-dry wines).
 
The wax thing is odd--there are so many examples of wines that do fine without it, and the waxes they use are permeable enough that they shouldn't matter.

But very cool stuff, Don, thanks.
 
originally posted by SFJoe:
The wax thing is odd--there are so many examples of wines that do fine without it, and the waxes they use are permeable enough that they shouldn't matter.

But very cool stuff, Don, thanks.

Not Muscadet, but I always wondered about Dagueneau and his capsuleless, waxless bottles.
 
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