(2022) Winemaker and owner Jacky Blot is a trailblazer for quality in the Montlouis appellation, growing Chenin Blanc on 45 hectares where chemical treatments are "practically non-existent," and yields dramatically low, averaging 25hl/ha. Malolactic fermentation is avoided, and the wines are matured in barriques of varying ages. This is a stunning example of Loire Chenin Blanc, a hint of gold to the colour, and the nose showing beeswax and ripe apple, with an undertow of nougat. In the mouth the full texture has a waxiness too, a nuttiness perhaps like Cox's pippin apples, and it is utterly mouth-watering. A pithy, dry finish adds to the gastronomic appeal of this delicious wine.
(2022) From a small family property farming on chalk soils, this is made with a non-interventionist policy, and opens with great elegance, citrus and gentle peach aromas, a touch of stone or flint. The fruit has real ripeness on the palate, so juicy with plenty of lime and orange, the fresh citrussy finish beuatifully balanced.
(2021) Blancs Palets, or 'white discs' references the white flint stones found on the limestone slopes of the vineyard for this Sancerre. Like Tinel-Blondelet's 2018 the Pouilly-Fume there's a coolness and restraint on the nose, but also an immediate sense of concentration. Apple and citrus are to the fore, just a subtle hine of something more exotic peeking through, but very direct. It is juicy on the palate, and though there is a hint of pineapple or something more tropical, maybe mango, it's really all about the crisp Asian pear and lemony thrust of the wine, the finish long, cool and staying intense to the last drop of flavour. £15.99 as part of a mixed six.
(2020) A fabulous wine this, that I last tasted in the 2014 vintage. It comes from Kimmeridgian soils (à la Chablis) in this family domaine, made by winemaker Annick Tinel-Blondelet, who's been in charge here since 1983. Pure Sauvignon Blanc, but so, so different from a typical New World expression, all about cool, restrained fruit and minerality, just hints of stone fruits and waxy lemons. In the mouth that sense of purity again, but also intensity and concentration, a streaking citrus fruit is mouth-watering, a little chalkiness, and a pin-sharp finish of fruit and acidity. £15.99 as part of a mixed six. Watch the video for more information and food-matching suggestions.
(2018) Annick Tinel-Blondelet has been in charge here since 1983, the 12th generation of her winegrowers family, their vineyards sited on slopes of Kimmeridgian marl, as found in the top vineyards of Chablis. What a lovely nose on this wine, striking a balance between peach and exotic fruit ripeness, and smoky, mineral-driven terroir aromatics, sensuous and at the same time brightly appealing. In the mouth the featherlight 12.5% alcohol does not mean any lack of texture, the 35-year-old vines giving natural concentration, and that salty tang of minerality honing the edges of the ripe and crowd-pleasing fruitiness. Deliciously gluggable and classy, and at its £14.99 offer price at time of review, a serioud steal.
(2017) The epitome of refined Sauvignon Blanc, this does not miss out on fruit or a hint of nicely controlled exuberance, but is so classic in its style. The nose has gentle stone fruit aromas, just a background suggestion of grassiness and flint, all very elegant with a shade of white flowers somewhere in the mix. On the palate the sweet ripeness of the fruit is there, but this is dry and has some hedgerow, gooseberry tartness, a squeeze of grapefruit and lime citrus, into a long, elegantly tapering finish. Very classy Sauvignon Blanc indeed.
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