Muscadet is one of the iconic white wines of France. When Remi Branger and Gwenaelle Croix purchased Domaine de la Pepiere in 2019, they were amused to find that alongside some of the best Muscadet vineyards in the Loire, they also bought some plots of red grapes, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Malbec – locally called Côt. They liked the wine that came from these experimental plots well enough to keep them, and now we get to enjoy this fruity-yet-rustic red at a great price. Aromas of black plum, tomato leaf, pepper and pipe tobacco. Medium weight, lightly tannic palate with full-blooded red fruit, orange, violets and dusty clay soil before a smooth finish of underbrush and black berries. While this is perhaps the least white wine made in Muscadet, it is made in a similar way in steel and aged in fiberglass tanks. This is Malbec at its purest, perfect for easy, meaty dishes from French countryside cooking.