Winemaker Notes
Expect ripe fruit aromatics including citrus, exotic fruit and baked quince or apple. In its youth, there can be a slight bitter almond edge that softens over the aging process.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2020 Clos du Papillon is shy aromatically, offering up restrained characters of white stone fruit, almond meal and an intriguing whiff of smokiness. It is a textured Savennieres, initially caressing the mouth with it's silken texture before showcasing its true colors: this is a powerful style with drive. Its tension, austere acidity and phenolic grain reflect its poor volcanic soils. Compared with the 2019, it is more balanced (lower alcohol), taut and precise, and that's welcome.
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Wine Spectator
A round, substantial style, with yellow plum, Jasmine tea and juicy lemon notes that take on a slightly wooly texture on the full palate. Shows mouthwatering acidity that moves through, with crushed flint and fleur de sel accents taking this in a savory direction, while grapefruit pithiness brings bitterness to the finish. Elegant and beautifully balanced, with a long life ahead. Drink now through 2035. 600 cases made, 100 cases imported.
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.