La Pépière 'Les Gras Moutons' 2023 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur lie

750ml bottle

12% abv

Lovely fruit with firm acidity. Versatile and crowd-pleasing with real mineral depth and length.

100% Melon de Bourgogne

Les Gras Moutons is a lieu-dit on a windy, south-facing slope within the Monnières-Saint-Fiacre cru, overlooking the Maine River. Two parcels on gneiss in deep layers that allow strong vine penetration, with sandy clay and scattered amphibolite stones. Vines at the top of the hill. The name, despite the sheep on the label, refers not to fat sheep but to the hilltop site in local dialect.

Farming certified organic, in conversion to biodynamics. Harvested by hand. Whole-cluster pressing. Spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts in stainless steel. Aged nine months sur lie in large underground tanks. Bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Les Gras Moutons, first bottled in 2007, is among the most distinctive of those single-parcel wines. The gneiss and amphibolite terroir of Monnières-Saint-Fiacre produces a denser, more structured style than the granite-based cuvées, with a mineral and saline backbone that rewards short-term cellaring. Drink now through five to ten years

Domaine de la Pépière was founded by Marc Ollivier in the 1980s and became one of the most important estates in the history of Muscadet's modern reputation, alongside Jo Landron, Guy Bossard, and the Luneau-Papins, Ollivier was central to demonstrating what serious, terroir-driven Muscadet could be. In 2019 Marc stepped back, handing the domaine to his protégés Rémi Branger and Gwénaëlle Croix, who have maintained the standard. The estate is based in the Clisson cru and farms several of the appellation's most respected parcels, each vinified to express its individual geology (granite, gneiss, gabbro) rather than a house style.