A Burgundian orphan. Born, like Chardonnay, of Pinot and Gouais Blanc — the two are full siblings — Melon was banished from its homeland by the same ducal edicts that pursued Gamay, and found refuge far away on the Atlantic. When the great frost of 1709 killed the vineyards around Nantes, the hardy Melon was replanted in their place, encouraged by Dutch merchants who wanted a reliable white for their stills and their herring trade.
As Muscadet it became the ocean's own wine: pale, neutral, saline, low in ceremony and perfectly judged. Ageing sur lie — the winter spent on its fine lees — lends it cream, a faint prickle and surprising depth. Poured beside a plate of oysters it has, by common consent, no rival.