I drank a delicious bottle of Muscadet the other day. Tall and slender with a thick foil top and a very busy confusing label.

To decipher... Saint Fiacre is a place on the confluence of two rivers Sevre and Maine in the Western Loire in the Nantes region. 'Sur Lie' means that the wine was left sitting on the yeast (lees) for some time to develop flavour. The Melon de Bourgogne grape (which is the only one allowed in AOC Muscadet) is bland and benefits from this contact with the lees. It needs that injection of character. This bottle is AOC Sevre et Maine which is considered the better of the sub-appellations of Muscadet.

The packaging is both delicate and sophisticated looking, and is frankly a scary sight for those who are used to buying Australian Chardonnay in the supermarket.

The label is a bit like looking at a menu in an upmarket restaurant, once you figure out that 'jus' means gravy it all seems pretty straight forward.

It is no accident that Melon de Bourgogne is grown in the region. The grape fares well due to its ability to resist the frost. Maybe I will source some next winter and stick one on the end of each finger for my cycle into work. They could double as breakfast on arrival.

It tasted dry, but not overly so. It was refreshing with a sense of body within, giving a rounded finish. At just under £9.00 from Cambridge Wine Merchants, one to remember.

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