Clos de l'Écotard Saumur Blanc 2020

Organic. The estate’s emblematic vineyard, the Clos de l’Écotard, was planted by Michel Chevré between 2009 and 2013. It lies on a slope below the village of Courchamps, clay/limestone with occasional outcrops of limestone bedrock. With the help of Thierry Germain, Chevré planted at a density of 8,000 vines per hectare (considerably higher than the regional norm) using a range of Chenin clones and sélections massales sourced from the vineyards of François Chidaine.

Covering a continuous parcel of two hectares, the Clos de l’Écotard has only ever been ploughed and the farming has been organic since day one. Yields are restricted to four or five bunches per vine. Naturally, the grapes are harvested manually (rare in the Loire, where machine harvesting is the norm today). It’s a site ideally suited to growing world-beating Chenin Blanc.

For the winemaking, fermentation begins in stainless steel tank, then mid-way through the ferment, the juice is racked into a mixture of foudre and 500-litre demi-muid. Following 10 months on lees, the wine is then bottled unfiltered.

For a wine whose style tends to lean on tensile energy rather than obvious power, the 2020 is surprisingly full-bodied, with a deeply hewn palate and textured length. Aromas of yellow fruit and chalk, drizzled with white honey, give way to compact layers of fleshy pear, crystalline white stone fruit, kernel and a hint of nutty complexity, all harnessed by focused acidity and mineral brightness.