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Clos Le Vigneau is a single vineyard from an area known as "les Gués d'Amant" or "Lover's Gap". Most of the vines were planted in 1929.
Off dry in style with honey, earth and apricot notes. Wines from the town of Vouvray have been known to age well for 40 years. This particular bottling should hold for at least 5-7 years.
A special selection of older vines, some 80 years or older, from the estate’s peerless flint-rich soils. A stunning, complex wine and one that will age, too; put a case away and forget about it for 10 years, then be amazed!
From 18 acres of vines growing in a celebrated vineyard named the Fat Sheep.* This is in the adjacent commune of Saint Fiacre, which is the smallest of the 23 communes in the Sèvre et Maine AC and one with some of the best grape growing land. The rocky gneiss soil here is thin, between 6-14 inches deep, in a seam of amphibolite, a greenish metamorphic rock. The vines were planted between 1930 and 1986, and average more than 50 years old. The meager soil and old vines on this small hill give naturally low yields, averaging 45 hl/ha. The wine rests on its lees in underground tanks for twelve to fourteen months. Ripe, round, concentrated and intensely mineral, this wine can age beautifully, developing aromas with bottle age that are a cross between Riesling and Pinot Blanc. A productive year sees 3,625 cases made.
Fifth-generation vigneron Paul Bizard farms ten hectares of mostly Chenin Blanc planted in schist soils around the château. For the Cuvée Spéciale, Paul harvests grapes exclusively from the domaine’s best vineyard, Le Hu-Boyau. This high-lying, well-exposed parcel overlooking the Loire is special for its stony soils of phtanite, a hard sedimentary rock that is extremely rare in the Savennières appellation. He then ferments the wine in stainless steel before aging it in a combination of old chestnut, acacia, and oak demi-muids within the property’s twelfth-century Romanesque chapel. The result is a zesty, honeyed blanc full of flavor and texture.
Chidaine has been a leader in natural viticulture, farming organically and biodynamically. This is a Best Buy for a high-quality sparkling wine. Made in the Méthode Traditionnelle style, just like Champagne, of Chenin Blanc vines from Montlouis. Aged 12 months on the lees to add complexity and finesse.
