Hl/Ha, a few winemakers realized than reducing the yield, selecting the best parcels and raising the wine on its lees for triple the time it had previously been raised, brings a very different wine, comparable to the best white wines in France.
The famous Michel Brégeon from Gorges started to make a Cru Gorgeois in the late 80’s and the first bottle of Gorgeois was released in 1991. All the other winemakers were intrigued, even jealous of the success of that wine which found its public price triple that of a generic Muscadet. Slowly, groups of winemakers from all over the appellation bounded together to define the guidelines of the new Cru, taking advantage of the new venture to promote the emphasis of the terroir. After 27 to 34 months on the lees, the wine is blind tasted by the group of winemakers from the area who self-censure the wine. Currently there are four Crus in the Muscadet: Schistes de Goulaine (on slate), Granite de Clisson (hard granit), Granite de Château-Thébaud (crumbled granit) and Monnières-Saint Fiacre (on gneiss), along with the Gorgeois (on gabbro) which, although being the pioneer, continues its path alone. There is still room for new Crus to come, reflecting the caracteristic of the orthogneiss and sand/limestones which are not yet represented, and have a tremendous aging potential.