90 points John Gilman (View From the Cellar): "I was very much impressed with the entire lineup of 2010 from Pierre Luneau-Papin, as he has clearly nailed the vintage beautifully across the board. The Domaine Pierre de la Grange bottling offers up a superb and classy aromatic blend of lemon, beautifully complex minerality, just a touch of brininess, lime zest and fine topnote of dried flowers. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and snappy, with good mid-palate depth, lovely focus and balance and a very long, complex and minerally finish. Good juice out of the blocks that will have no difficulties aging a decade or more. 2012-2025. (Jan/Feb 2012)"

Pierre et Monique Luneau-Papin head this 30-hectare estate in Le Landreau, in the heart of Muscadet country, where small hamlets dot a landscape of vineyards on low hills. Their estate, also known as Domaine Pierre de la Grange, has been in existence since the early 18th century when it was already planted with Melon de Bourgogne, the Muscadet varietal. The estate has a high proportion of old vines, 40 years old on average, up to 65 years of age. The harvest is done by hand, also a rarity in the region, to avoid any oxidation before pressing. There is an immediate light débourbage (separation of juice from gross lees), then a 4-week fermentation at 68 degrees, followed by 6 months of aging in stainless-steel vats on fine lees. This is the classic Muscadet-sur-lie process, where the wine is kept on its lees, with a fair amount of CO2 as protection, until bottling in the spring following the harvest. The only modern technique used here is macération pelliculaire (maceration of lightly crushed berries before pressing), which varies in proportion according to the cuvées.