2018 Les Gaudrets Savennieres

Coming from several southeast-facing plots located high up the village on a plateau of aeolian sands and deep black schists, the 2018 Savennières Les Gaudrets opens with a clear, bright and lifted, delicately fruity bouquet intermingled with notes of crushed stones, white flowers and citrus fruits. Also, the stony aromas and not the fruity ones intensify with aeration and intermingle with the delicate, rather bright fruit aromas (mirabelles). The enveloping palate is silky, refined and very elegant, less powerful and tannic than the Anjou Noir but carried by a beautiful acidity and refined and balanced, with an intense, iodine and spectacularly long and also tannic-structured finish. This is a delicate and very elegant Savennières that already drinks very well, but it can be aged for up to two decades, maybe longer. Tasted in June 2021.

The 2018 Gaudrets is taut and floral in style, with a delicate, supple mid-palate. A touch reductive, giving a slightly wild, struck match note as well as adding tension. Not that it needs it; this is the tightly wound expression of Savennières. The wine is fermented in mainly foudres and some barrels, rounding out its shoulders and bringing a layer of savory complexity. It fades a little quicker than I'd like.

Sandy loam on schist; south-facing parcel. A captivating nose with notes of pear, flowers and citrus. The élevage has brought some richer texture but the precision of flavours is remarkable for this delicious Savennières, which finishes on a saline note. Spends 13 months on lees.