Melon de Bourgogne is a neutral-flavoured white grape variety from France, today almost exclusively linked with the seafood-friendly wines of Muscadet.
Melon de Bourgogne is not an inherently full-flavoured grape, but characterised by a mildly saline, stony flavour that is light, dry and refreshing. More ambitious examples display the words “sur lie” on their label, indicating that the wine has been aged on its lees (the dead yeast cells left over from fermentation) to impart extra flavour and mouthfeel.
Melon de Bourgogne is part of the sprawling Pinot family that originated in Burgundy. Exiled from its homeland in favour of more expressive varieties during the 16th century, Melon de Bourgogne found a new home in the Loire Valley. Here the variety proved well-adapted to cold weather, while an ability to produce large volumes of neutral-tasting wine made it popular with Dutch traders seeking a distillation base. As a result, Muscadet became widely planted in the Pays Nantais on the Atlantic coast.
Melon de Bourgogne is the Loire’s most planted grape variety, but its presence is restricted to the far western end of the Loire in the Atlantic climate of the Pays Nantais. A small amount of Melon de Bourgogne can still be found at the northern end of its native Burgundy around the village of Vézelay. Internationally the main home for Melon de Bourgogne is a low-key presence in Oregon, where it tends to make a rounder, fruiter style of wine. Melon de Bourgogne is also planted by a single Washington State producer on the appropriately cool, coastal Bainbridge Island near Seattle.
Much of the Melon de Bourgogne in the USA was originally planted in the belief that it was Pinot Blanc.
This grape variety is also known by the name of:
Auxerrois gros, Bougogne blanche, Blanc de Nantes, Biaune, Feher Nagyburgundi, Gamay blanc à feuilles rondes, Gamay blanc, Bourgogne verde, Bourgogne vert, Bourguignon blanc, Game kruglolistnyi, Meurlon, Gros Auxerrois, Gros blanc, Malin blanc, Gamay blanc feuilles rondes, Lyonnais, Lyonnaise blanche, Grosse Sainte-Marie, Picarneau, Mele, Petit bourgogne, Melon, Mourlon, Melon bijeli, Petite biaune, Perry, Petite bourgogne, Pétoin, Pétouin, Plant de Lons-le-Saulnie, Petit muscadet, Roussette basse, Pourrisseux, Später Weisser Burgunder
