Domaine Laffourcade Savennières 2019, Loire Valley, France

The prestigious and tiny appellation of Quarts de Chaume, a diminutive AOC in the heart of the Loire Valley’s Chenin Blanc territory, has been associated with the name Laffourcade for the past five decades. Already a mainstay in the tiny and prestigious appellation of Quarts de Chaume, he decided to create wines from the two other most sought-after Chenin crus of the Anjou region: Bonnezeaux and Savennières. Laffourcade acquired his Bonnezeaux property, Chateau Perray Jouannet shortly thereafter and added the eponymous Savennières vignoble in 1988. Vignobles Laffourcade, the final prong of the Laffourcade triumvirate, is seated right on the banks of the Loire River, and almost at the city limit of Angers. This property is the largest of the three, encompassing close to 100 hectares under vine. Clos de la Royauté, Pascale’s single vineyard Savennières site, comprises only 5 of these hectares. Soils of brown schist and Aoelian sand imbue the Laffourcade Savennières with their expressively bodied texture and rich, medium-dry mouthfeel. Grapes are entirely hand harvested of 20 year old vines. Grapes for the entry-level cuvee undergo a pellicular maceration for 6-8 hours before pressing, then ferment in fiberglass without the addition of any yeast. Wines do not go through malo.