La Désirée Chardonnay
La Désirée Chardonnay
Cuvée La Désirée is the rare thing — a Chardonnay wine from the Loire estuary. A region dominated by the Melon de Bourgogne grape and the fresh Muscadet wines. Those who venture upstream along the Loire will discover that Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc reign on the white side. So why not Chardonnay here in Pays Nantais, in the heart of Muscadet country? La Désirée is essentially made like a Muscadet — but with a different grape. This means that freshness and crispness take centre stage, a freshness elegantly rounded off by the long time the wine has been aged 'sur lie', on its lees, following the area's tradition (in this case over four months).
| Type | White wine | Producer | Les Frères Couillaud |
| Country | France | Origin | Loire |
| Grape | Chardonnay (100%) | Vintage | 2023 |
| Food pairing | Aperitif, Fish, Raw fish | ||
| Size | 750 ml | Alcohol content | 12,5 % |
| Units per case | 12 bottles |
115 SEK
Character
Fresh and fruity with notes of pear, honeydew melon, herbs and minerals. The first to plant Chardonnay in the area was Bernhard Couillaud (father of Amelie Couillaud, who today owns and runs the business with her husband Vincent). Like most in the region, he struggled to sell his Muscadet in the 1980s. When he saw the rapidly growing American market calling for Chardonnay, he decided to plant the grape. His US importer was sceptical, but after successful blind tastings he changed his mind and instead asked Bernhard Couillaud to make more Chardonnay. And so it went. Today, 40 of the family's roughly 100 hectares are planted with the grape, and the Chardonnay wines from Frères Couillaud are sold across numerous markets — the USA, Brazil, Canada, New Caledonia, the Netherlands, Iceland, Belgium... and now, at last, Sweden. But does Frères Couillaud — today run by Amelie and her husband Vincent — only make Chardonnay? No, they primarily produce Muscadet of various kinds: generic, cru (Vallet), with sulphur, without sulphur, with enormously long lees ageing, with shorter lees ageing... They also make a range of wines from grapes even more unusual for the area than Chardonnay — what about Petit Manseng, Viognier and Sauvignon Gris, to name a few?
