The Observer

TIM ATKIN MW gives a moment to Muscadet and comments: I drank little else in France this summer, apart from the odd glass of ros.' One of the important things to remember with this oft-derided grape is the difference between straight Muscadet and the generally superior Muscadet Sur Lie, he continues. Of the supermarket own-labels, the only one to receive the Atkin approval is 2005 Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Muscadet de Svre et Maine Sur Lie (4.99), which he describes as crisp and refreshing with notes of apple and pear and a classic sur lie prickle of carbon dioxide'. Among his other recommendations are 2004 Le Clos des Alles, Vieilles Vignes, Muscadet de Svre et Maine Sur Lie (6.90; Les Caves de Pyrene).