La Tour Gallus - Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine Cru Gorges 2016

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About wine:

The 2016 Gorges has a refreshing and lively bouquet with aromas of lemon, pear, herbs, iodine, and spring flowers. On the palate, the wine has a moderately balanced, flinty texture which, combined with a taut mid-palate, concludes with a chiseled profile. I particularly appreciate the mineral and indulgent finish. This is a great wine at the peak of its form today.

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About wine:

Gorges 2016 is one step ahead: this vintage was aged on its lees for 76 months before being bottled. A Muscadet of beautiful intensity, evolving without excess and structured by persistent bitter notes on the finish. Its structure, more refined persistence than opulence, promises great aging potential.

About the estate:

Damien Rineau is so discreet that he flew under the radar of our tastings for years. Coming from a lineage of nine generations of winemakers, as evidenced by his endless family tree at the foot of the vineyard hanging on the wall of his cellar, this child of the Nantes region has been crafting highly classic Muscadets since the 1980s. His vineyard is located in Gorges, a specific area where the extremely rare dark blue compact rock, gabbro, is home to the white melon. The wines produced here are not the most pleasant when first opened; they need to be given time to develop, as they start off discreetly and then reveal a magnificent bitter structure. Damien cultivates this style, particularly in his Gorges, which has remarkable aging potential (over twenty years). In traditional underground vats, his 2016 was aged on lees for... 72 months! The estate has been sold to Thierry Denjean, owner of the Haute Perche estate in Anjou and Vin de l'A in the Swiss Valais, but Damien Rineau will remain in post for a few more years.