Château de la Ragotière Muscadet Sèvre Et Maine Sur Lie Black Label 2005

The three Couillaud brothers, proprietors of Château de la Ragotière, continue to produce one of France's best white wine values, one which captures tradition and elegance and also whets the appetite for what's next.

Ragotière Muscadet Sèvre Et Maine 2005 was bottled directly off the lees (yeast bodies), without racking, allowing trace amounts of carbon dioxide to remain.  Cases produced: 2000.

Tasting Notes: Color: Light lemon gold.  Aromas: Lime, meyer lemon, plus background notes of spearmint and cold blossoms.  Light-bodied, just barely rounded off at this point, and somewhat chalky minerally approaching salty, the orange peel and lime flavors kick in as the wine finishes clean and dry.

Excellent value ($12).  Closure: Real cork.  Alcohol content: 12%.

Ragotière's 60+ acres of muscadet vineyards are located near where the Sèvre and Maine rivers converge into the Loire, before flowing to the nearby sea.  The importer is Vineyard Brands.

Winewaves reviewed the 2004 vintage of Château de la Ragotière Muscadet.

Comments

[Marcus]

And this mouthwatering Muscadet's got the Terra Vitis label too, which I quite like. I tasted another Loire with this ecological designation -- http://weingolb.blogspot.com/2006/06/trout-with-caper-shallot-garnish-and.html -- and I think they're worth tracking down.

I really like how you take front and back photos. In this case, the back label on a wine can convey a lot of key information.