Forget your preconceptions that Muscadet should be drunk as fresh as possible. The finest can age for years and Jérôme Choblet’s Herbadilla 2007 from 100 year old vines is perfection. From cru Côtes de Grandlieu, it is ripe, creamy, yet stony fresh.
From the age of four Jérôme Choblet believed he was a vigneron, like four generations before him. He was inquisitive then and no less so now. He even has a few rows of vines in California and China. Just for fun! Jérôme completed three degrees – in viticulture, winemaking and business – before joining his father Luc and grandfather, and increasing the vineyards substantially. His most prized vines are in Côtes de Grandlieu, planted a century ago. It’s the most westerly Muscadet area and, despite being closest to the Atlantic, the warmest too. The soil is mica schist with sandy gravel and a pebbly topsoil – ideal for long-aged wines, with remarkable concentration and freshness. Over four years’ lees stirring has lent considerable complexity.
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