- white
- 0 in stock
- Organic
- No Sulfur
This is a spectacular new 100% Chenin Blanc cuvée from our friends at La Grange aux Belles! Since the creation of the estate, Marc Houtin (the founder, joined after by Julien Bresteau and Gérald "Jesse" Peau) was longing for a beautiful terroir to make a single vineyard chenin - he knew the plots farmed by La Grange aux Belles could make really good but not great wines, they were too rich. One day, passing by the congress center of the small town of Mûrs-Érigné he discovered at the end of the road a plot of 3 ha uncultivated land, overlooking the Louet, a little affluent of the Loire. Before the 50s, there was a vineyard here on these blue schists He knew he had found the perfect spot! After years of talks with the mayor (luckily he was part of the green party), they finally got the right to rent 1.2 ha. Immediately they cleaned it, let it fallow and in 2013 replanted it with multiple massale selection from top producers - Lise & Bertrand Jousset, Philippe Foreau, Benoit Courault, etc., adapting the rootstocks and the pruning to the very poor soil. 2018 is the third vintage of this Roche de Mûrs named after the local name of the plot - and featuring on the label a historic monument about the Vendée wars. But already with the first release in 2016 you could tell it was going to be a special one. The terroir could be tasted, even from these young plantation! With this 2018, a concentrated vintage, if on the nose the aromas are quite subtle, more floral and fruit than savory (orange blossom, lemongrass, honeydew), the palate is so intense and vibrant with a powerful backbone of schiste combined with a bracing yet ripe acidity. Aged in 600 l Stockinger barrel, the lees help to round on the structure, and bring an attractive reduction. Bottled without fining, filtration nor sulfites, it is a model of natural wine. Bravo to La Grange aux Belles for this wine and revealing a beautiful terroir forgotten by history. A bottle worth aging, you will also enjoy it decanted and served in large glass, paired with roasted guinea hen served with a purée of ratte potato and black garlic or crayfish in cream. Pascaline Lepeltier.