Le Quéry: Centenarian Vines and Granite in Muscadet

Some of these vines are nearing their hundredth birthday. That’s where Pierre Goiset’s Le Quéry 2022 comes from. Melon Blanc planted between 1920 and 1960, on pure granite soils in the Le Quéry parcel of Maisdon-sur-Sèvre. A Muscadet with depth you don’t expect.

The old roots reach deep into Muscadet’s granitic bedrock. Yields stay naturally low, fruit comes back extraordinarily concentrated. Goiset farms with horses, uses biodynamic preparations and herbal treatments, and lets these veterans do their work. The delicate ecosystem they’ve been part of for nearly a century stays intact.

In the cellar Goiset’s touch is light. Careful harvesting to preserve the precious fruit. Indigenous yeasts run fermentation at their own unhurried pace. The wine rests for eleven months in neutral fiber tanks. Without oak masking the terroir, the granite’s mineral complexity gets the full stage.

The wine shows a deeper golden hue than its sibling La Mauguit, a hint of the concentration these old vines achieve. The artistic label features abstract shapes in purple, orange, and green. Multidimensional, like the wine.

At 12.5% alcohol, Le Quéry holds onto Muscadet’s brightness while delivering real depth. Layers of ripe golden apple, pear, subtle citrus. A granitic mineral tension provides structure, with a subtle phenolic grip that speaks of the wine’s unfiltered, natural character.

This cuvée handles more substantial seafood. Try it with grilled sea bass, lobster with herb butter, or traditional regional pike-perch in beurre blanc. The wine’s texture and understated power match those richer preparations.

Le Quéry shows Goiset’s principle: real terroir takes patience. In the decades-long development of the vines, and in the unhurried winemaking that lets each vintage reveal itself. For anyone lucky enough to find a bottle, a rare glimpse into what Muscadet can be.

Sources

• InterLoire: vinsvaldeloire.fr
• INAO: inao.gouv.fr