Savennières Les Caillardières

France
Loire
2021

100% Chenin Blanc. From certified-biodynamic estate vines in the Les Caillardières vineyard, which lies on the plateau of Savennières on silky-textured, very poor soils of sand and schist. These 45-year-old vines are harvested by hand 10 days after the earliest-picked wine, La Jalousie, when the grapes are a little past just-ripe, having taken on deeper, riper, richer flavor tones (and still no botrytis, never a part of any Closel wine). The bunches are gently direct-pressed, followed by a spontaneous fermentation to dryness with native yeasts and without sulfur in 420-liter demi-muids, which are around 10% new. The wine generally goes through malo and is aged in the same barrels on the fine lees for 18 months without bâtonnage. Bottled unfiltered with a modest amount--its first dose--of sulfur.

92 points
"Surprisingly, the Savennières “les Caillardières” from Domaine du Closel is a touch riper in 2021 than it was in 2020, coming in at a full fourteen percent octane in ’21, as opposed to 13.5 percent alcohol in the previous vintage. The wine delivers a fine aromatic constellation of quince, a touch of pineapple, a lovely base of soil tones, lanolin and musky floral tones. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied, ripe and complex, with a touch of botrytis, a lovely core of fruit, good balance and grip and a long, focused finish. This is more Demi-Sec like in sweetness this year and is a lovely wine. 2024-2050. "
John Gilman,
View From The Cellar
July 2024

SKU/Code: 
DB3342-21
Product Line: 
Wine
White
Varietal: 
Chenin Blanc
Farming Type: 
Biodynamic