Melon de Bourgogne

VIVC, the Vitis International Variety Catalogue, records the variety as number 7615 under the prime name Melon, with a white berry skin and France as its country of origin. According to VIVC, its parents are Heunisch Weiss, the prime name under which VIVC catalogues Gouais Blanc, and Pinot, and VIVC lists this pedigree under 'Pedigree confirmed by markers'. A 1999 paper in Science by Bowers and colleagues, which analysed microsatellite loci in more than 300 grape cultivars, reported that sixteen wine grapes long grown in northeastern France, including 'Melon', have genotypes consistent with their being the progeny of 'Pinot' and 'Gouais blanc'. VIVC-derived lineage data record Aligoté, Auxerrois and Chardonnay as full siblings sharing both parents.

• VIVC variety number 7615; prime name Melon; white berry skin; country of origin France
• Parentage according to VIVC: Heunisch Weiss (Gouais Blanc) crossed with Pinot, listed under 'Pedigree confirmed by markers'
• Full siblings in VIVC-derived data: Aligoté, Auxerrois, Chardonnay

InterLoire, the Loire wine interprofession, writes that Melon B "originated in Burgundy but found its main home in the Nantes region of Loire-Atlantique". The Muscadet Sèvre et Maine specification credits the international merchant trade based in Nantes: from the 16th century, it says, melon B became permanently established in the region, and the name 'Muscadet' first appears in 1635 on a lease kept at Gorges. InterLoire adds that the variety was massively planted after the frost of 1709, which destroyed many local vines, because it resists cold climates well. After the damage of the Vendée wars in 1793-1794 and then phylloxera, the specification records growers adopting row planting and Guyot pruning and codifying their practice around melon B alone. The Muscadet Sèvre et Maine appellation was recognised by decree on 14 November 1936.

• From the 16th century, melon B became permanently established around Nantes, driven by the city's international merchant trade (Muscadet Sèvre et Maine specification)
• The name 'Muscadet' first appears in 1635, on a lease kept at Gorges (specification)
• Massively planted after the frost of 1709, which destroyed many local vines, as it resists cold climates well (InterLoire)
• Muscadet Sèvre et Maine recognised by decree on 14 November 1936; rules for the 'sur lie' mention defined in 1977 (specification)

InterLoire describes Melon B as producing "dry, light white wines with refreshing acidity", renowned for "subtle, mineral aromas". jancisrobinson.com characterises the wine as "neither very acid nor strongly flavoured", describing it as a neutral base for terroir and sur lie character. The Muscadet Sèvre et Maine specification caps total alcohol after enrichment at 12 percent by volume and describes the wines as white, dry and still, with a subtle balance between roundness and freshness and a complex bouquet dominated by fruity or floral aromas. Wines carrying the sur lie mention, it adds, generally lean more toward roundness, have a more complex bouquet, and may show a slight prickle from residual carbon dioxide formed during alcoholic fermentation.

According to InterLoire, Melon's main home is the Nantes region of Loire-Atlantique, at the western end of the Loire, where it calls the grape "the king grape variety of Muscadet, in the Pays Nantais region". Decanter lists four Muscadet appellations: Muscadet, Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire and Muscadet Côtes de Grandlieu. InterLoire's Muscadet AOC page, accessed in September 2026, describes an appellation official since 1937 that stretches from the Atlantic to the gates of Anjou and encompasses 1,300 hectares of vines on a subsoil based on the Armorican Massif, made up mainly of rocks such as gneiss, micaschist and gabbros. Its Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire page, accessed the same month, gives that appellation, northeast of Nantes, as the smallest regional appellation in the Nantes vineyards, covering 150 hectares for 35 winegrowers. The Muscadet Sèvre et Maine specification allows seven complementary geographical names: Château-Thébaud, Clisson, Gorges, Goulaine, Monnières-Saint-Fiacre, Mouzillon-Tillières and Le Pallet. Beyond France, jancisrobinson.com notes that some of California's 'Pinot Blanc' may be Melon.

• Muscadet Sèvre et Maine: made from melon B alone, with seven complementary geographical names including Clisson, Gorges and Le Pallet (specification)
• Muscadet AOC: 1,300 hectares from the Atlantic to the gates of Anjou (InterLoire, accessed September 2026)
• Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire: the smallest regional appellation in the Nantes vineyards, 150 hectares for 35 winegrowers northeast of Nantes (InterLoire, accessed September 2026)
• Muscadet Côtes de Grandlieu: one of the four Muscadet appellations Decanter lists
• California: some of California's 'Pinot Blanc' may be Melon, according to jancisrobinson.com

InterLoire lists Melon B's aromas as rifle stone among minerals, lemon and green apple among fruits, and white flowers. A Decanter tasting note on Vincent Caillé's Gorges Gabbro observed that "Melon B is aromatically fairly neutral". The Muscadet Sèvre et Maine specification gives each complementary geographical name a typical profile: Château-Thébaud wines saline, fresh and taut; Clisson with a very concentrated palate and intense, mostly fruity aromas; Gorges with a powerful attack supported by acidity and bitterness and mineral or menthol aromas; Mouzillon-Tillières closed in youth before showing floral, citrus, aromatic herb, brioche and mineral notes; Le Pallet with a smooth balance and a very fine, mainly floral bouquet. Prolonged ageing, the specification notes, sometimes gives the wines good ageing potential.

• InterLoire aromas: rifle stone, lemon, green apple, white flowers
• Sur lie wines: rounder, with a more complex bouquet and sometimes a slight prickle of carbon dioxide (specification)
• Gorges: powerful attack, acidity and bitterness, mineral or menthol aromas (specification)
• Clisson: very concentrated palate, intense and mostly fruity aromas of ripe and cooked fruit (specification)

The Muscadet Sèvre et Maine specification describes the 'méthode nantaise': wines are kept on their fine lees for at least one winter without any racking, a practice born of growers keeping a barrel of their best wine on its lees for coming celebrations. This ageing brings roundness and fat, notably through mannoproteins and other compounds from yeast autolysis, and because the wine stays untouched under carbon dioxide, oxidation is strongly limited and fermentation aromas are preserved into spring and beyond. Wines with a complementary geographical name stay on their lees until bottling and are bottled directly at the winery. InterLoire gives a minimum of 6 months on lees for Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire. Decanter's Christelle Guibert described lees ageing in traditional underground glass-coated tanks or, more recently, stainless steel tanks, with the wines bottled directly from their lees without racking.

• Méthode nantaise: at least one winter on fine lees without racking (specification)
• Lees ageing adds roundness and fat through mannoproteins and other yeast autolysis compounds (specification)
• Complementary geographical names: kept on lees until bottling, bottled directly at the winery (specification)
• Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire: minimum 6 months on lees (InterLoire)

In a Decanter feature on the region, Christelle Guibert named Guy Bossard, founder of Domaine de l'Ecu, who adopted biodynamic methods in the 1980s, and Jo Landron of Domaines Landron, who also converted his vineyards in the 1980s, and quoted Jérôme Bretaudeau of Domaine Bellevue. A Decanter selection of Muscadet included Jo Landron's Le Fief du Breil and Amphibolite Sur Lie, Domaine Luneau-Papin's Clos de Noelles Excelsior Goulaine, Domaine de la Pépière's Briords Cuvée Vieilles Vignes Sur Lie, Vincent Caillé's Gorges Gabbro and Domaine de L'Ecu's Granite.

• Domaine de l'Ecu: founder Guy Bossard adopted biodynamic methods in the 1980s (Decanter)
• Domaines Landron: Jo Landron converted his vineyards in the 1980s; cuvées Le Fief du Breil and Amphibolite Sur Lie (Decanter)
• Domaine de la Pépière: Briords Cuvée Vieilles Vignes Sur Lie (Decanter)
• Domaine Luneau-Papin: Clos de Noelles Excelsior Goulaine (Decanter)

InterLoire's advice is direct: "If you like oysters with lemon zest or poultry in sauce, this is the wine for you!" Decanter's Christelle Guibert noted that the riper, brighter Muscadets now replacing the bland wines of the past are "still great with oysters".

Primary sources: https://www.vivc.de/index.php?r=passport%2Fview&id=7615 ; https://doi.org/10.1126/science.285.5433.1562 ; https://www.vinsdeloire.fr/en/grape-varieties/melon-b ; https://extranet.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/2e-PRJ-CDC-Muscadet-Sevre-et-Maine-post-CE.pdf ; https://www.vinsdeloire.fr/en/loire-wines/muscadet ; https://www.vinsdeloire.fr/en/loire-wines/muscadet-coteaux-loire Reference sources: https://www.jancisrobinson.com/learn/grape-varieties/white/melon-de-bourgogne ; https://www.decanter.com/features/muscadet-renaissance-in-a-glass-245746/ ; https://www.decanter.com/premium/the-enduring-appeal-of-muscadet-18-fabulous-wines-to-try-548525/ Last verified 2026-09-29