Grande Falaise 2022: a Red Merlot from Muscadet
Pierre Goiset's Grande Falaise 2022: Merlot from young vines on granite, briefly infused, unfiltered. A red from Muscadet country, with honest caveats.
A red wine from Muscadet. Even saying it feels off, yet here it is: Pierre Goiset’s Grande Falaise 2022. Merlot, from a region that has revolved around white Melon de Bourgogne for generations. It shows the maritime climate around Nantes can handle more than you’d think.
The maker
Pierre Goiset was a cameraman before he started his own estate in 2021, south of Nantes, where the Sèvre Nantaise meets the Maine. It’s small: about three hectares, of which 2.6 are Melon de Bourgogne and just over half a hectare Merlot. There’s more on him in my profile of Pierre Goiset.
He farms organically and biodynamically. Between the rows he ploughs with a horse, because a tractor compacts the soil too much.
Where it comes from
The Merlot grows on granite in the Le Quéry parcel, in Maisdon-sur-Sèvre. These are young vines. The same parcel gives Le Quéry, a white from vines up to a hundred years old.
How it’s made
Goiset doesn’t chase extraction. The grapes get a brief infusion of a few days, a light maceration that picks up fruit and earthy notes without heavy tannin. The wine then ages for eleven months in neutral fibre tanks, with no oak. It’s unfiltered and gets very little sulphur.
Tasting Note
Appearance
Bright ruby-purple, with a striking sheen.
Palate
Red and black fruit, with a subtle earthy note. Lively acidity that gives away its cool, maritime origin. Soft, integrated tannins, a silky texture and the mineral tension of granite.
Quality
Playful and lively: 13.5% alcohol, but little weight.
What to watch for
First, young vines. They lack the age of his Melon parcels, and that shapes the wine: fresh, light and lively.
Second, it won’t say Muscadet on the label. The appellation only covers white wine from Melon de Bourgogne. Search by the maker’s name.
Third, the estate is young. The first harvest was 2021, and frost cut it to 13 hectolitres per hectare against a target of 30. So this 2022 is only the second vintage, and there’s even less red than white. Goiset’s wines turn up mainly at natural wine specialists.
Fourth, unfiltered and low in sulphur. The wine keeps evolving in the bottle. As with any unfiltered, low-sulphur wine: store it cool.
At the table
Serve it lightly chilled. It works with charcuterie, duck breast with cherry sauce, and even the local seafood.
- Producer
- Pierre Goiset, Maisdon-sur-Sèvre
- Wine
- Grande Falaise
- Vintage
- 2022
- Region
- Muscadet, Loire, France
- Grape
- Merlot (young vines)
- Soil
- Granite, Le Quéry parcel
- Winemaking
- Brief infusion, eleven months in neutral tank, unfiltered
- Alcohol
- 13.5%
Sources
- My own tasting note
- InterLoire: vinsvaldeloire.fr
- INAO, Muscadet cahier des charges: inao.gouv.fr
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