2023 Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie, Vieilles Vignes, Poyet

If you've written off Muscadet as thin and forgettable, this is the bottle that changes your mind. Château du Poyet works old vines (the vieilles vignes on the label) in Sèvre-et-Maine, the best sub-zone of the Muscadet region near Nantes, where the Loire meets the Atlantic. The grape is Melon de Bourgogne — not Chardonnay, despite the Burgundy in its name.

The sur lie part matters. The wine rests over its spent yeast lees through winter before bottling, and that's what gives it weight and a faint bready, savoury texture rather than the watery neutrality of cheap Muscadet.

In the glass it's pale with green tints. The nose is quiet and mineral, lemon and green apple with a whiff of the sea. The palate is where the old vines earn their keep: proper weight and concentration, lime and pear, a long saline finish and acidity that leaves your mouth watering. Bone dry, light and endlessly refreshing.

At under £12 this is one of the great value whites full stop. Buy it by the case for summer — it's the wine you'll reach for again and again.

How to Serve

Serve properly cold, 7–9°C, in an everyday white wine glass. Drink it young and fresh; no decanting, no cellaring needed.

Where to Drink It

Bentley's, at the oyster bar with a dozen natives. Wright Brothers for shellfish. Sweetings for old-school fish lunch and a cold glass.

Food Pairings

Oysters, first and last — few pairings are this perfect. Otherwise moules marière, or a plate of prawns with mayonnaise and brown bread.