This past Friday and Saturday, on location at my new gig at Domain du Closel - Château des Vaults, I took the opportunity to visit three more neighboring Savennières producers. After visiting six Savennières producers in three days, I’m extremely pleased with the quality and diversity that we all have to offer. Domaine des Baumard, very well-known in the US, might be the first Savennières producer to experiment with screw caps. All of their wines are now bottled with screw caps, which is very much a “New World” approach, and can be considered quite provocative among the traditionalists of France. My second visit was with Claude Papin of Château Pierre Bise. Claude is an anti-communicator communicator. Boy can the man talk ! He is passionate about terroir, a “terroirist” if you will. He believes a good wine should sell itself through its terroir, not through marketing and promotions. Although this is a very admirable and inspiring approach, my personal and professional belief is that like a good wine, it should always be a balance of the two. After all, if we make a good wine, then we want people to drink it ! Unfortunately, this usually requires a little bit of business communications. In either case Claude is a great viticulturist and winemaker and should be respected as such. My final visit on Saturday was with Jo Pithon of Pithon-Paillé. Jo is what some refer to as a “peasant” winemaker. He is very friendly, approachable and casual and is knee deep in his winemaking. His Anjou Rouge is one of the best I’ve ever had.
Below are the wines I tasted …
2006 Domaine des Baumard Savennières
Tasting Notes : 100% chenin blanc, 13% vol. Crisp, mineral and peachy on the nose. Sweet-like in the mouth, although a dry wine, there is good richness, balance and a smooth and fleshy texture. There is some bitterness and flavors of dried apricots.
Rating : 16/20
2006 Domaine des Baumard “Clos du Papillon” Savennières
Tasting Notes : 100% chenin blanc, 13.5% vol. Complexity and savory on the nose with notes of flowers, spice and light sulfur, although not unpleasant. More complexity and savory in the mouth with a slightly oily texture and balanced by a little sourness and flavors of mineral and peach.
Rating : 16/20
2005 Domaine des Baumard “Clos du Papillon” Savennières
Tasting Notes : 100% chenin blanc, 13.5% vol. Good complexity on the nose with aromas of almonds, flowers, and minerals. Great fruits in the mouth displaying a great balance and flavors of peach, almonds, and smoked bacon.
Rating : 17/20
2003 Domaine des Baumard “Trie Spéciale” Savennières
Tasting Notes : 100% chenin blanc, 13% vol. A more subtle nose with notes of minerality, peach and flowers. Fresh and lightly effervescent, almost Badoit-like, in the mouth. There are flavors of peach and minerals.
Rating : 15/20
2007 Domaine des Baumard “Trie Spéciale” Savennières
Tasting Notes : 100% chenin blanc, 13.5% vol. A more fruity nose with peachy aromas. A silky texture in the mouth with slightly sour flavors of apricot and minerality.
Rating : 16/20
2007 Domaine des Baumard Coteux du Layon Moelleux
Tasting Notes : 100% chenin blanc, 12% vol. Served too cold to fully appreciate the aromas, however it still displayed a wonderful crispness and minerality and notes of white fruits and peaches. More white peaches in the mouth as well as dried apricots and a little sourness. This wine has a great acidity.
Rating : 16/20
2007 Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume Moelleux
Tasting Notes : 100% chenin blanc, 12.5% vol. A little bit Sauternes-like with a very elegant and pretty nose. A velvety, silky texture in the mouth, this wine is rich, very sweet, yet well balanced by a good acidity and flavors of honey, canned peaches. Definitely showing the botrytis.
Rating : 18/20
2004 Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume
Tasting Notes : 100% chenin blanc, 13% vol. An interestingly complex and sweet nose of smoke and minerality. Good richness in the mouth, although less than the 2007. This wine has lower acidity, which makes it a little cloying, yet in the end it is still quite delicious, displaying flavors of sweet peaches.
Rating : 16/20
2008 Château Pierre Bise Anjou Blanc
Tasting Notes : 100% chenin blanc, A crisp, fresh, dry nose with notes of mineral and spice. Refreshing and crisp in the mouth with upfront acidity. Lacking in complexity this wine is a little sour with flavors of apples and citrus.
Rating : 13/20
2009 Château Pierre Bise “Clos le Grand Beaupreau” Savennières
Tasting Notes : 100% chenin blanc, 14.5% vol. A mild funk on the nose, although not unpleasant, there is good complexity with notes of minerality and smoke. A little watery at first, then opening up right away to a balanced acidity and flavors of spice, mineral, apricot, citrus and grapefruit.
Rating : 14/20
2008 Château Pierre Bise Savennières-Roche aux Moines
Tasting Notes : 100% chenin blanc. A very fresh nose with mild spice and nutmeg. Good acidity, good fruits and very refreshing in the mouth. This wine is a little sour with flavors of grapefruit, green apples, and peach.
Rating : 15/20
2008 Château Pierre Bise Quarts de Chaume Moelleux
Tasting Notes : 100% chenin blanc. Good spice and complexity in the mouth, displaying wonderful notes of honey. Great balance and acidity in the mouth screaming of peaches and apricots.
Rating : 15/20
2005 Château Pierre Bise Coteaux du Layon Moelleux
Tasting Notes : 100% chenin blanc. A pretty nose of mineral and graham cracker. The botrytis comes through nicely. Less acidity and more cloying in the mouth, than the Quarts de Chaume, there are flavors of honey and canned peaches.
Rating : 15/20
2009 Pithon-Paillé “Mozaique” Anjou Rouge
Tasting Notes : Tasted just prior to bottling, directly from the vat. 100% cabernet franc. Strong red and black fruits on this very fresh, pretty and elegant nose, displaying nice aromas of spice and rose petals. Good fruity acidity and balance in the mouth, displaying a subtle bitterness, almost rubber band like, accompanied by delicious blackberry notes. One of the best Anjou Rouges I’ve ever had.
Rating : 16/20
Price : 14€ @ estate
2009 Pithon-Paillé “Mozaique” Anjou Blanc
Tasting Notes : Tasted just prior to bottling, directly from the vat. 100% chenin blanc, 50% from schist-based soil, 50% from limestone-based soil. Still very much alive and active on the nose, although done fermenting, very fresh and slightly prickly with aromas of apple, apricot and minerality. This wine is slightly disjointed, displaying bitter and sour notes of grapefruit and apple.
Rating : 14/20
Price : 14€ @ estate
2009 Pithon-Paillé Savennières
Tasting Notes : Tasted just prior to bottling, directly from the vat. 100% chenin blanc. More complexity and minerality on the nose with notes of peach. Good fruits and richness in the mouth. There are flavors of mineral, peach, citrus, green apples, and an overall, yet subtle, sourness.
Rating : 14/20
Price : 20€ @ estate
2009 Pithon-Paillé “Treilles” Anjou Blanc
Tasting Notes : Tasted just prior to bottling, directly from the vat. 100% chenin blanc. A sweet nose with good spice and apple aromas. Slightly prickly and effervescent with a crisp acidity in the mouth. There are flavors of citrus, grapefruit, and green apple.
Rating : 15/20
Price : 30€ @ estate
2009 Pithon-Paillé “4 Vents” Coteaux du Layon Moelleux
Tasting Notes : Tasted just prior to bottling, directly from the vat. 100% chenin blanc, 13.5% vol., 110 g/l residual sugars, 5 g/l total acidity. Peach and apricot confit on the nose. Pretty simple and straight-forward in the mouth with a good acidic balance and flavors of peach.
Rating : 15/20
Price : 20€ @ estate
2009 Pithon-Paillé Quarts de Chaume Moelleux
Tasting Notes : Tasted just prior to bottling, directly from the vat. 100% chenin blanc, 100% botrytized berries, 11% vol., 160 g/l residual sugars. Good spice, minerality and peach notes on the nose. More cloying than the Coteaux du Layon with delicious flavors dried apricots.
Rating : 16/20
Price : 70€ @ estate
2009 Pithon-Paillé “Belargus des Treilles” Coteaux du Layon-Beaulieu Moelleux
Tasting Notes : Tasted just prior to bottling, directly from the vat. 100% chenin blanc, 100% botrytized, 10% vol., 175 g/l residual sugars. More spice and minerality on the nose than the Quarts de Chaume. More pronounced acidity in the mouth than the Quarts de Chaume. This wine has a great balance and delicious flavors of dried apricots. Basically this wine offered a little bit more than the Quarts de Chaume of everything I’m looking for in a good vin moelleux.
Rating : 16.5/20
Price : 70€ @ estate
