2020 Pierre-Bise, Savennières Roche aux Moines, Anjou, France

Claude and Joelle Papin-Chevalier started Chateau Pierre Bise thirty years ago. Claude Papin, a former President of the Technical Institute of the Vine and of Wine, and his wife are the most polemic defenders of the Anjou terroir. Being perhaps unsurprisingly very good friends with Marcel Deiss from Alsace. They control over 32 hectares of vines, producing a vast array of single-parcel whites, reds and sweet wines. The Roche aux Moines plateau is composed near the surface of rhyolite, an acidic volcanic rock formed from cooled magma. It is responsible for the orangey colour of the siliceous sandstone at the bottom of the slope. This first part is the least rocky, the topsoil is around 80cm thick.  Why do we like it? This rich and opulently textured 2020 has ripe citrus aromas, long, powerful finish masks the wine’s balancing acidity. This is a very fine Savennières, full of baked apple, dried fruit and honeyed notes. There's depth on the palate and a mineral, slightly grippy texture that leaves you with a sappy finish, absolutely exquisite! Grape            Chenin Blanc Country        France                                  Region          Loire Valley                                       Vintage         2020