Winemaker Notes
From certified-biodynamic estate vines in the Les Caillardières vineyard, which lies on the plateau of Savennières on silky-textured, very poor soils of sand and schist. These 45-year-old vines are harvested by hand 10 days after the earliest-picked wine, La Jalousie, when the grapes are a little past just-ripe, having taken on deeper, riper, richer flavor tones (and still no botrytis, never a part of any Closel wine). The bunches are gently direct-pressed, followed by a spontaneous fermentation to dryness with native yeasts and without sulfur in 420-liter demi-muids, which are around 10% new. The wine generally goes through malo and is aged in the same barrels on the fine lees for 18 months without bâtonnage. Bottled unfiltered with a modest amount--its first dose--of sulfur.
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.