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2017 Savennières “Cuvée Spéciale”
Château d’ÉpiréIf any domaine epitomizes the rich history and traditions of the Loire Valley appellation of Savennières, it is Château d’Épiré. Located on the northern bank of the Loire River just outside of Angers, this picturesque castle is home to the Bizard family, who has been producing wine here since 1882, making it the oldest winemaking family in Savennières. 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. It will pair as well with a cheese board as it will with roast chicken or Chris Lee’s steelhead trout with beurre blanc.
Click here for Chris Lee’s recipe for steelhead trout with beurre blanc.
—Tom Wolf
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2017 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Chenin Blanc |
Appellation: | Savennières |
Country: | France |
Region: | Loire |
Producer: | Château d’Épiré |
Winemaker: | Paul Bizard |
Vineyard: | Planted in 1989, 1.5 ha |
Soil: | Schist |
Aging: | Ages for about 6 months sur lie in very old chestnut demi-muids |
Farming: | Lutte Raisonnée |
Production: | 4000 cases |
Alcohol: | 14.5% |
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About The Region
Loire
The defining feature of the Loire Valley, not surprisingly, is the Loire River. As the longest river in France, spanning more than 600 miles, this river connects seemingly disparate wine regions. Why else would Sancerre, with its Kimmeridgian limestone terroir be connected to Muscadet, an appellation that is 250 miles away?
Secondary in relevance to the historical, climatic, environmental, and cultural importance of the river are the wines and châteaux of the Jardin de la France. The kings and nobility of France built many hundreds of châteaux in the Loire but wine preceded the arrival of the noblesse and has since out-lived them as well.
Diversity abounds in the Loire. The aforementioned Kimmderidgian limestone of Sancerre is also found in Chablis. Chinon, Bourgueil, and Saumur boast the presence of tuffeau, a type of limestone unique to the Loire that has a yellowish tinge and a chalky texture. Savennières has schist, while Muscadet has volcanic, granite, and serpentinite based soils. In addition to geologic diversity, many, grape varieties are grown there too: Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, and Melon de Bourgogne are most prevalent, but (to name a few) Pinot Gris, Grolleau, Pinot Noir, Pineau d’Aunis, and Folle Blanche are also planted. These myriad of viticultural influences leads to the high quality production of every type of wine: red, white, rosé, sparkling, and dessert.
Like the Rhône and Provence, some of Kermit’s first imports came from the Loire, most notably the wines of Charles Joguet and Château d’Epiré—two producers who are featured in Kermit’s book Adventures on the Wine Route and with whom we still work today.
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Vintage Chart Mentality
Vintage Chart Mentality
Trust the great winemakers, trust the great vineyards. Your wine merchant might even be trustworthy. In the long run, that vintage strip may be the least important guide to quality on your bottle of wine.—Kermit Lynch