Les Prières 2024

Jérémie is a third-generation winemaker in the Muscadet Sèvre et Maine appellation, located southeast of Nantes. After traveling the world, he returned home and was inspired to craft cleaner, low-intervention wines. In 2014, he began converting to organic viticulture and was certified by 2020. His estate, just 50 km from the Atlantic, offers a unique range of soils that contribute to the character of their wines. He produce five still cuvées, all made from the same grape, Melon de Bourgogne, each sourced from different single vineyard sites, showcasing a variety of soils such as sandy loam, gabbros, clay-siliceous, gneiss, and biotite granite. The varying lees aging—ranging from 6 to 24 months—further enhances the minerality, finesse, and typicity of each cuvée. Winemaking Detail: Hand-harvested from a variety of plots planted on metamorphic rocks. The grapes are lightly pressed and then allowed to settle, followed by fermentation. Fermentation and aging in traditional underground cement tanks, lined with tiles under controlled temperature. The wine is then racked on fine lees with battonage, before being aged on lees for 7 months.

Hand-harvested from a variety of plots planted on metamorphic rocks. The grapes are lightly pressed and then allowed to settle, followed by fermentation. Fermentation and aging in traditional underground cement tanks, lined with tiles under controlled temperature. The wine is then racked on fine lees with battonage, before being aged on lees for 7 months.

Direct; young; clean citrus fruit; with notable saltiness; freshness and green fruit on the nose. Touch of lime and gooseberry. Upfront the pallet is a wash of acidity; zingy green fruits with a salty mineral backbone. Lively; well balance alcohol and a lovely refreshing finish.

Oysters, Shellfish, Whelks

The Loire, France's longest river, is home to many much celebrated and quintessential French grapes. From the once ubiquitous-in-the-UK Melon de Bourgogne by the Atlantic coast, to the home of Sauvignon Blanc in Sancerre, via some of the world's best Chenin and crunchy Cabernet Francs, Gamays and Pinots there is quality all around. Being at the northernly limit for winemaking, the wines are hallmarked by their crisp, fresh, crunchy fruit and high acidity, where reds may sometimes struggle to ripen and whites nearly overdeliver on acidity. The 69 appellations that make up the larger region are grouped into smaller sub-regions with predominantly single variety wines leading the way. As you move east the climate changes markedly from maritime to continental as the soils change from flint and limestone to the hard granite of central France.