Pepiere, Muscadet La Pepie Mise Precoce 2025

100% Melon de Bourgogne

Loire Valley, France

Classic Muscadet on granite. The core of the "La Pépie" bottling is the 10-hectare heart of the Pépière estate, which is part of the Clisson cru in the tiny commune of Pépière near the winery; there is also a portion of purchased fruit from a nearby organic farmer friend in the mix. Pépière's farming is certified-biodynamic and the harvest by hand. The bunches are direct-pressed and the juice settled for 12 hours. It is fermented in stainless steel tanks with natural yeasts. Aging takes place in large, underground, glass-lined cement tanks before bottling without filtration. Sulfur additions are three to five grams after alcoholic fermentation with a possible adjustment at bottling.

Normally, Pépie is aged and bottled starting at around 6 and up to 8 months, but in certain years, in this case 2025, Pépière bottles a part of the vintage in December immediately following the harvest for earlier release. The wine has historically been referred to--though not labeled--as mise précoce, literally "bottled early". 

2019 was Marc Ollivier's last vintage. He's officially retired. And while his house is just minutes from the cellar, he and Geneviève plan to spend the majority or their time in Brittany enjoying the finer things in life (namely seafood).

The estate is in very capable hands with residing proprietors Rémi Branger and Gwénaëlle Croix. Rémi is a local that Marc has known since he was a kid. When his father retired in 2005, Marc purchased his land and Rémi started as an employee in 2006. Having long realized his daughters were not interested in inheriting the estate, Marc had him come on board as a partner in 2011. Gwen, on the other hand, joined in a less straightforward fashion.

After a decade working in the industrial sector, she moved to China with her family for her husband’s work. Gwen discovered wine there and it quickly became a fascination. Upon returning to France, she decided to switch careers and studied viticulture and oenology at Montreuil Bellay. Her first visit to Pépière was a pruning formation in early 2011. She instantly hit it off with Marc and Rémi (which to be fair is quite easy) and after finishing school, worked at the estate a year before becoming a partner in 2014.

Marc will be the first to admit that adding new people and perspectives helped push Pépière forward. He largely credits Rémi as the impetus of finally converting to organic viticulture, Gwen for biodynamics. Things in the cellar have evolved as well, with more judicious applications of S02 and a fearlessness to push sur-lies élevages to new heights of three, four and even five years.