Jo Landron Brut Atmosphères NV (6 Bottles) Muscadet, France

by Fine Wine Cellars

$361.00 GST Included

AUSTRALIA WIDE SHIPPING INCLUDED

Biodynamic. This Loire bubbles has enjoyed so much love among those who know the wine, and no wonder. It’s a hand-harvested, Estate-grown, biodynamic, naturally fermented, low-dosage fizz that shows up many conventional Champagnes for both quality and value. Topping off an impressive package is the marvellous label designed by legendary French illustrator, Michel Tolmer (of Mimi, Fifi and Glouglou fame).

Jo Landron is not a fan of using Muscadet’s Melon de Bourgogne for sparkling wine, preferring instead a blend of around 75% Folle Blanche (grown on sandy clay), with a balance of Pinot Noir (grown on gravelly soils). Vine age varies between 18 and 30 years. The yields are typically between 50 and 60 hl/ha–far lower than the average yields in Champagne. The base wines are fermented naturally and then go through a traditional second fermentation in bottle, where they remain for a minimum of 24 months. The dosage is a low five grams per litre (Extra Brut). On top of all this, the fruit for this cuvée is from a single vintage (2017 in this case).

This list of attributes sounds like the winegrowing and making approach of a top grower in Champagne, not a humble Muscadet producer! It’s no surprise then that the result is a wine of impressive depth and complexity. Expect a super-mineral, earthy, rocky wine with waves of racy citrus and fresh nectarine fruit and lots of flinty, talc-like, salty complexity, then a delicious lick of smoky Pinot breadiness to close. This is simply one of the finest sparkling bargains going around.

“As always this is officially non-vintage (although Jo tells me it is 2017) and is mostly Folle Blanche. It is made in the extra brut style using the méthode traditionnelle. Jo will add a little dosage at disgorgement during the first 24 months, but later disgorgements such as this one receive no such support. It has a fragrant floral nose, filled with chalk, orange and peach, in a ripe and expressive style. The palate maintains an even more exotic stance, with plush fruit, the wine’s broad texture here offset by an incisive mousse and punchy acidity. A lovely style.”

93 points, Chris Kissack, The Wine Doctor

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REVIEWS

“The wines of Jo Landron are now the reference in the – too small – genre of terroir driven Muscadet.” La Revue du Vin de France

“Jo Landron remains one of his region’s most conspicuous over-achievers, and his name (or that of one of the domaines with which he is affiliated) on the label a virtual guarantor of fine quality.” David Schildknecht

TASTING NOTES

Much like the man himself, the engaging Muscadets of Jo Landron brim with life and personality. These finely-etched soil-specific wines represent the antithesis of the bland, neutral, overcropped produce that has sadly become the regional norm. Jo Landron, who learnt to farm the land from his father, took control of the family domaine 1990. His philosophy, driven by the conviction that the essence of great Muscadet is expressed through the minerality of its terroir, has raised the regional bar so high that only the granite-infused bottling from the great Guy Bossard rivals these Muscadets for sheer intensity of flavour and distinctive, electric energy.

The unique expression of Landron’s cuvées are the result of the diversity of soil types that are found within his vineyards. All are farmed organically using biodynamic practises. Vines are planted densely (8,000 per acre) to naturally control yields, which are kept to a maximum 8 bunches per vine, lower in some cases. Yields stay between 40 and 45 hl/ha – incredibly low by Muscadet standards – and naturally no herbicides or pesticides are used.

Manual ploughing and hand harvesting are followed by a direct, soft pneumatic, pressing of whole clusters. Only indigenous yeasts are used, and after a cool fermentation lasting 15-20 days, the wines are aged in glass-lined temperature-controlled cement vats, on their lees for 7-12 months. At this point, the wines are bottled using gravity flow. This traditional, minimalist approach preserves the natural freshness and minerality that is a trademark of the very best wines of this genre.

Like the Muscadet of fellow visionary (and friend) Guy Bossard, you’ll notice how much more amplitude and texture, not to mention minerality and softer acidity, these Muscadet’s possess. As well as being among the finest vignerons of the wider Loire Valley, these are the two avant-garde Nantes producers that are ploughing the front line in a mini Muscadet Renaissance, producing lovely wines that refuse to be pigeon-holed.

These are wines of Riesling like freshness and clarity yet with the mineral drive of a Dauvissat Chablis. They represent some of the finest quality/price white values from Europe today. If you think you know all you need to know about Muscadet, but have not tried these wines, then… time to think again.

Fine Wine Cellars

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