Pays Nantais
Cool maritime
The Atlantic end of the Loire around Nantes, home of Muscadet: bone-dry, saline Melon de Bourgogne made for shellfish.
Overview
About Pays Nantais
The Pays Nantais is the westernmost part of the Loire, close to the sea and the city of Nantes. Melon de Bourgogne is the main grape, made into Muscadet, and Folle Blanche, sold as Gros Plant, is a minor second.
The best Muscadets come from around the Sèvre and Maine rivers and are aged over the winter on their lees. The neutral grape takes its character from the terroir and the lees, giving a light, saline, lemony wine with a fine texture.
Hover a marker to see what's grown there, and click it to open that place. On a touch screen, tap once to preview and again to open. Bigger markers have more grapes linked to them.
France
Shaded: Loire-Atlantique. Map units are states, provinces or départements, so a smaller place appears as the larger area that contains it.
The land
Climate & terroir
Climate
Cool maritime
Mild and oceanic, with the Atlantic close by. Winters are wetter and milder than upriver, and the cool, breezy summers keep the acidity high.
Terroir & soils
What the vines grow in
Schist, gneiss and granite, with poor, shallow soils over hard rock. The best sites are on slopes above the Sèvre and Maine rivers.
Go deeper
Rules, years & producers
Muscadet's tiers are about where the wine comes from and how long it rests on its lees.
Crus communaux
Named villages such as Clisson, Gorges and Le Pallet, whose wines rest on the lees for well over a year.
Muscadet Sèvre et Maine
The core and by far the largest appellation, around the two rivers.
Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire and Côtes de Grandlieu
Smaller, more outlying appellations.
Sur lie
A label term for wine aged over the winter on its lees, adding texture and a slight savoury note.
Within Pays Nantais
Appellations
What's grown here
Grapes
Grapes linked to Pays Nantais or to a place within it. Each grape's page links back here.