Besides the appellation Muscadet contrôlée, the region is divided into 3 A.O.C (controlled term of origin ):
AOC Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine
AOC Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire
AOC Muscadet Côte de Grand Lieu.
The appellation Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine is one of the oldest in France, having existed since 1936 and was reviewed in 1999. It covers an area of 10 560 hectares (in 23 districts), with around 2 100 growers of which one is TOPAZE.
To be labelled « sur lie » our wine must be bottled between the 1st of March and the 20th November of the year following the harvest.. TOPAZE 2001 was bottled on the 17th and the 18th of April 2002, which means it spent 6 months in the vats.
Short history :
At the beginning of the century, the wine growers kept back the best barrels to celebrate important family events. This unrefined "wedding barrel" preserved the carbonic gas (from the alcohol fermentation) with its freshness, it's molecules of refined sediments exhaling their aroma. In 1972 this technique was made official.
Melon de Bourgogne :
A grape variety originating in Burgundy (where it does not grow well), it was established during the 17th century in the Nantes vineyards under the influence of the Dutch merchants who bought white wine to distil into eaux de vie and following a disastrous frost which called for a more hardy rootstock. It gets its name from the round- shaped leaves and it is harvested mid September.
The melon is prone to diseases: mildew, oïdium and toxic decay for which we give treatment during their entire growth cycle.
