In an increasingly complex and ever-changing wine world, I have a soft spot for those who just keep things steady and simple. The Bottex family is literally the only vigneron family I know who make one single wine, have always made only one single wine, have no plans to expand, and make their one single wine ridiculously, deliciously well. No changes to the label nor to what’s inside the bottle, in at least the few decades I’ve been drinking it. No need to chase any fads when you’ve got something impeccable you can be proud of. This is a universally loved pink bubbly delight of candied strawberries and roses, always true and always exquisite. Icing on the cake is that it’s affordable, too.
—Chris Santini (Kermit Lynch)
100% Melon de Bourgogne. Classic Muscadet on granite. The core of the "La Pépie" Sur Lie bottling is the 10-hectare heart of the Pépière estate, which is part of the Clisson cru in the tiny commune of Pépière near the winery; there is also a portion of purchased fruit from a nearby organic farmer friend in the mix. Pépière's farming is certified-biodynamic and the harvest by hand. The bunches are direct-pressed and the juice settled for 12 hours. It is fermented in stainless steel tanks with natural yeasts; the wine is aged on its lees for 6-8 months in large, underground, glass-lined cement tanks. It is bottled without filtration.
-Importer notes
In 2016, Pépière's classic, earliest-release bottling saw an addition to the label, the "La Pépie" moniker, because of the necessity of adding non-estate fruit to the production (Pépière had 85% of their own crop devastated in 2016 due to mildew). It marks the first time the estate has purchased fruit.
It comes from neighboring parcels that match their terroirs and work philosophy. The wine is a combination of said purchased fruit and estate fruit, 50% of which comes from vineyards that could technically produce cru bottlings.
-Importer notes (Dressner)