Congratulations to Helen Turley!

Noted winemaker Helen Turley and her husband, John Wetlaufer, just won $255,000 in back pay from Don Bryant of the Bryant Family for breach of contract.

This was way below the $556,958 that the couple had asked. The jury decided that Ms. Turley had not looked for work elsewhere or something like that.

This translates into a lot of Muscadet. Ms. Turley and Mr. Wetlaufer can now buy about 106,250 bottles of good-quality Muscadet, ex-cellar France. This is way below the 232,065 bottles they would have bought if they had won the amount they demanded. Either way, this makes for a lot of Muscadet.

As a consolation, we will be sending Don Bryant a bottle of the 2002 Clos des Briords Muscadet, a wine that was highly praised in the Wine Spectator, but which has never received as many points as the Bryant Family wines made during Helen Bryant's tenure.

It goes great with oysters.
- Joe Dressner 3-11-2004 6:54 pm


This will help ease the pain of the quake in Paso Robles the no doubt cause quite a problem knowing the tight margins they work on.....
- Ian (guest) 3-11-2004 9:04 pm


Paso Robles? You mean they make Muscadet there now too?

Maybe Ignace Paderwski liked the wine and planted some when he lived there. Maybe Russell Briggs can select some someday too, if he ever starts selecting Paso Robles wine.

I guess that this just proves that you learn something new every day. Glad I lurked on by. Thanks Joe!

-Eden
- Eden Mylunsch (guest) 3-11-2004 11:03 pm


il cherche la bagarre!
- the sheriff (guest) 3-12-2004 11:08 am


Joe are there 232K bottles of great muscadet made??
- anonymous (guest) 3-12-2004 1:39 pm


I believe he wrote "good-quality" not great.
- Cole (guest) 3-12-2004 1:54 pm


OK, I feel a little bit offended. Living 7 months a year in the Muscadet area, I can tell you that over the 2000 winemakers of the area, about 30 of them make EXCEPTIONAL wine from at least the level of Marc Olivier's.That makes something like 4 millions of bottles, I'm speaking about fantastic wine, not only "great with oysters".Don't need to be sarcastic with people sweading to sell their jewel under $3 a bottle to the export, suffering of the reputation of over 1500 winebulkers from the same area making dry bone liquid.one day I'll write down an anecdote about some Muscadet I sold in a summer restaurant in NY...that show the stupidity of customers.
Last week I was member of the super Jury in the vins de Château Thebaud concours and tasted 20 Muscadet from 1998 to 1989...You would kill someone to get your hand on that once!
- David Ledu (guest) 3-12-2004 2:18 pm


OK, David. Names!
- Scott Kraft (guest) 3-12-2004 2:22 pm


Jean-Michel et Laurent Poiron -Château Thébaud
Michel Bregeon- Gorges
Bruno Cormerais -Ste Lumine de Clisson
Guy Bossard-Le Landreau
Jean Daniel Bretaudeau-Monnières
Chritophe Drouard-Monniéres
Sylvain Aulanier-Gorges
Jean Douillard-Château Thébaud
Xavier Branger -Vertou
.......
That is just to start with, you could at least get 20 winemakers from each town from the original delimitation of Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine, from Vertou to clisson via Saint fiacre, Maisdon, Château Thébaud, Monnières and Gorges...
- David Ledu (guest) 3-12-2004 2:45 pm


qu'est-ce qui te tracasse?
- the sheriff (guest) 3-12-2004 4:26 pm


David Ledu --

Who are you anyhow?

How did you get here?

You should mention Jo Landron and Pierre and Monique Luneau.

I agree with Bregeon.

The Oyster Joke was just ajoke.

Is Xavier Branger related to Claude Branger?
- Joe Dressner 3-12-2004 4:57 pm


monsieur dresser! tu es d'une humeur massacrante aujourd'hui!
- the sheriff (guest) 3-12-2004 5:08 pm


man! the sheriff sure is smart!
- the camel (guest) 3-12-2004 5:31 pm


wetlaufer? isn't that the name of jack welch's squeeze?
- the sheriff (guest) 3-12-2004 7:15 pm


Is he the grape jelly guy?
- Scott Kraft (guest) 3-12-2004 9:16 pm


OkDoc, a agree that the Luneau are part of the very good Muscadet maker ( Sorry, I don't know Jo Landreau but only the domaine du Landreau..) although the terroir on the Landreau area can't bring what most of the terroir of the original appelation in1936 can bring.
Joe, how is your heart doing?, my 6 years old son had two open heart surgery , one before yours, the over one after.
After that you apreciate life for what it is ...! with everything that it brings, Dolce vita, belle vie...and wonderfull business opportunities (I needed to give something to the US)
Who am I ? ask Michel Bregeon next time you stop by...and ask him to taste his Cabernet (only 0.7 hectares)
- David Ledu 3-13-2004 10:59 am


joe can we get a few more great muscadets from you, i think we need 2 more producers
- anonymous (guest) 3-13-2004 3:47 pm


Tres rigolo!
- David Ledu 3-13-2004 4:19 pm


I agree, Ledu, many a craftsman must kill themselves to sell their jewels, but perhaps we can all share the blame... Have not we all sucked up to the restaurant market? When was the last time they confessed to their clients that they often charge for food they could cook at home, and the profit is in the butt kissing. So to sum up, if you sell to restaurants, you necessarily are seeking the favor of people who do not see value, but rather fatuous suck ups. At least those vignerons in the Loire can rightfully point out that few of their clients can perform such magic with Melon.
- Ian (guest) 3-14-2004 12:36 am


Absolutely, Ian.
- David Ledu 3-14-2004 6:25 am


Joe, were-you thinking of Joseph Landron ?
- David Ledu 3-14-2004 3:43 pm


Yup, that's the man.

I'm still puzzled about who you are.

I'll be in the Muscadet on August 5th. See you then.
- Joe Dressner 3-14-2004 4:07 pm


Good choice, he is a good one !

Andrew Lurie was one of my customer and as we were getting closer he invited me to a wine tasting in the big apple. I was looking for some changes in my wine list when he suggested to contact Polaner selection. My coup de coeur in 1994 was a Cour Cheverny which was my wedding wine... and last year going to Astor wine I find out that they had my favorite one from Francois Cazin and that you were the "selectionneur". Another good pick as well as all the other wines from the Loire Valley that I know pretty well. I LOVE the Buster concept and it's something similar to what I had in mind years ago. I'll see you hopefully before august 5th as a client, and will call you next week if you're in your office. Well as my kids are still young and I'm not that buzy with university stuff, I have to leave this blog to go back to the porn..
- David Ledu 3-14-2004 4:49 pm


David:

Can you name 30 EXCEPTIONAL porn sites amongst the 1000s of choices?
- Joe Dressner 3-14-2004 5:50 pm


I can
- Gene (guest) 3-14-2004 7:14 pm


putain!
- the sheriff (guest) 3-14-2004 11:13 pm


I thought Buster was a dog? Who knew he was a "concept"?! Does he have a sequel?

(Joe, the manuscript is amazing, inspired! I fell of my chair reading the opening of chapter 15. Keep going!)
- NYScott 3-15-2004 12:47 am


Joe, next time I meet you in Person I'll give you my personal TOP30 porn web site for three reasons ; one: it is a TOP SECRET LIST which is the concentrate of thousands of hours on porn sites that I wouldn't give everyone,two: that stupid goverment might censure it ! three: I will give it only to very special person.Lucky you!

PS: Sheriff, Ian, scott, gene, camel, Cole , Eden & anonymous, you don't even know what you're missing !
- David Ledu 3-16-2004 6:13 pm


will it be in Magnums, or screw cap?
- Ian (guest) 3-16-2004 8:37 pm


We're speechless, David.
- NYScott 3-17-2004 12:15 am


Speaking of Cour Chevrny, that '96 by Cazin rocks! How about a library release, Joe? I'm all out!
- Brad K (guest) 3-17-2004 1:24 am


Funny that I should stumble upon this. I'm now living and drinking in Muscadet 12mos/12. I generally go tramping about dans les vignes le moineau every weekend. Thanks for the list Ledu. I was in Gorges yesterday, trying to pay a visit to Brégeon, though I didn't call before. I hate calling before anyhow because being on a schedule prevents me from poking around here and there as I wish. Long story short, j'ai sonné chez brégeon sans réponse. Paraît-il que tout le monde était à Nantes, il y avait une espèce de féstival à la place Talensac avec 300 vignerons. J'ai donc volé de brégeon un petit bout du fameux sous-sol gabbro de Gorges comme souvenir avant de filer chez un assez inadmirable faiseur de muscadet du lieu dit d'à côté.
- fallwest (guest) 3-19-2006 11:48 am