Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Domaine aux Moines 2013 Savennières-Roche aux Moines has an intense citrus color and opens with some Fino aromas before the terroir shines through along with very fine, small yellow fruit and citrus tea aromas. Very elegant and rather light on the palate, this is a lean, fresh and linear Roche aux Moines that reveals its tannins only in the nicely salty finish. It is by far not as big as 2014 or 2015 but a very nice and characterful wine that needs some years to reach its best condition, although it will always remain a more austere Chenin compared to the other vintages. Tasted in May 2018 at the domaine.
Unquestionably one of the most diverse grape varieties, Chenin Blanc can do it all. It shines in every style from bone dry to unctuously sweet, oaked or unoaked, still or sparkling and even as the base for fortified wines and spirits. Perhaps Chenin Blanc’s greatest asset is its ever-present acidity, maintained even under warm growing conditions. Somm Secret—Landing in South Africa in the mid 1800s, today the country has double the acreage of Chenin Blanc planted compared to France. There is also a new wave of dedicated producers committed to restoring old Chenin vines.
Known for its delightful whites and sparkling Pétillant and Mousseux, made predominantly of Chenin blanc, Anjou has a temperate and dry maritime climate. The region's limited temperature variations are admiringly referred to locally as the “douceur angevine,” or “Anjou sweetness.” Fruit forward rosé and red wines from Cabernet Franc and Gamay merit Anjou its success within the Loire subregions.