Tasting Notes
Pépière has 14 hectares of vines in the cru of Château Thébaud, but only a 1.5-hectare parcel of vines 25 to 70 years old goes into this bottling (the rest goes into the entry-level "La Pépie"). The south-facing site features sandy clay soils based on decomposed granite de Thébaud--which has more clay and is thus cooler and slower-ripening versus granite de Clisson--and overlying mother rock of the same granite. The farming is certified-organic and the all vineyard work including harvest is manual. As for the all Pepière wines, the clusters are direct-pressed and the juice settled naturally for 12 hours. It is then fermented in stainless steel tanks with natural yeasts; the wine is aged on its lees in large, underground, glass-lined cement tanks. The "Château Thébaud" bottling requires extending aging of up to 3.5 years (which by the way disqualifies it from the "sur lie" designation). The palate is round and ripe and supple with white fruits and minerals. This is a superb Muscadet to drink over the next ten years, also decant for the best showing. - Importer Note
Marc Ollivier of Domaine de la Pépière, from the appellation of Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, is one of the great vignerons of the Loire Valley. Ollivier's reputation comes from the vibrancy and density of his wines which reflect their terroir, which for most of his vineyards is granite, one of the less common terroirs for Muscadet, accounting for only 5% of the appellation. He has 28 hectares of vines; about 8 hectares lie on the granite of Clisson in the more southerly part of the appellation, another 12 hectares further north, on the granite of Château Thébaud; both of which contain veins of metamorphic gneiss with amphibolite stones.
| Product Type | Wine White Other Varietals & Blends |
| Volume | 750ml |
| Country | France |
| Region | Loire Valley |
| Sub Region | Muscadet Serve et Maine |
| Winemaking Practices | Minimal Intervention |
| Vineyard Practices | Organic/Biodynamic |