Pépière has 14 hectares of vines in the cru of Château Thébaud, but only a 1.5-hectare parcel of vines 25 to 70 years old goes into this bottling (the rest goes into the entry-level "La Pépie"). The south-facing site features sandy clay soils based on decomposed granite de Thébaud--which has more clay and is thus cooler and slower-ripening versus granite de Clisson--and overlying mother rock of the same granite. The farming is certified-organic and the all vineyard work including harvest is manual. As for the all Pepière wines, the clusters are direct-pressed and the juice settled naturally for 12 hours. It is then fermented in stainless steel tanks with natural yeasts; the wine is aged on its lees in large, underground, glass-lined cement tanks. The "Château Thébaud" bottling requires extending aging of up to 3.5 years (which by the way disqualifies it from the "sur lie" designation). The palate is round and ripe and supple with white fruits and minerals. This is a superb Muscadet to drink over the next ten years, also decant for the best showing. Andrew Guard 2024
