Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
This wins the prize for the most complex Savennières we tasted for this issue, as well as the most confusing. It is, in fact, its own appellation, an ancient and legendary site with shallow schist and quartz soils, where the Joly family works to interpret biodynamics for the wellbeing of their vines and their wines, most of their plants rooted in the ground for 40 years, some for up to 80. The color is deep gold and the flavors echo that in golden raisin and golden apple, baked peach and, yes, the scent that threw this taster off, banana. Rather than fresh, it’s layered and deep, with turmeric, saffron and schist notes adding spice to the structure.
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.