IT'S ALL IN THE DETAILS

Michel Brégeon’s Muscadets are set apart by the soil in Gorges, where his vineyards include gabbro, volcanic rock that formed when the ground was ocean floor. Brégeon farms 19.2 acres, the vines for this cuvée averaging 40 years old; he ferments it without added yeast and ages it in underground glass-lined vats, often for many years before bottling.

This young wine is super-rich, with succulent flavors of Asian pear, touches of matsutake mushroom and lots of salt air. It’s bright and chiseled, with distinctive minerality that needs plenty of oxygen to reveal itself completely—suggesting that Brégeon’s decision to hold his wines back in tank is a worthwhile plan to follow in bottle as well. Otherwise, decant a bottle now, and start shucking oysters.