Like Chianti, Soave, and mass-produced, sweet German Riesling, Muscadet enjoyed great popularity in the 70s and 80s, but the region’s producers were tempted by booming demand into overproduction, the region’s reputation cratered and Muscadet has spent decades living down the consequences. Few places have more convincingly reclaimed their authenticity than Vignoble Gilbert Chon, founded in 1719 and located at the 17th century Château de la Jousselinière, 12 kilometers east of Nantes, where Melon de Bourgogne has been grown since 1643 on friable schist and granilite. Located in the Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sub-region, which is named after two tributaries of the Loire, Muscadet Sèvre et Main produces 80% of all Muscadet. Marine Chon and her husband Arnaud Madec are the 13th generation to steward the now 170 acre property, including the 4-hectare Clos de la Chapelle that abuts the chateau’s chapel. The sustainably grown 70 year old vines send roots meters down into quick-draining, fractured schist before finding the required moisture. The wine spends nine months sur lie, on the lees, in underground glass-lined tanks that broaden Melon’s apple-skin and citrus profile without interfering with its salinity and minerality. Early harvest peach or nectarine flavors lead with hints of ripe melon, grapefruit and honeysuckle. Give it a little time after your sip to savor the minerality and juiciness of the finish before you take your bite of shrimp, pan-seared white fish or fresh pasta.