Wow, how good is this? Just one bottle and who knows, maybe everything clicked in 2015, but it’s been a while I’ve been this impressed by a producer at first sip. Must buy more!
2015 Antoine Sanzay Saumur-Champigny- France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny (13.6.2020)
Decanted for an hour. The nose is darker in tone with just beautiful blackcurrant fruit, only a slight hint of capsicum, smoke, dark chocolate and minerally hints. It is complex, expressive and invigorating. On the palate it has this wonderful richness that completely takes me by surprise as the label states only 12.5% ABV. It also has superb, appropriately gripping tannins that give the wine great structure. The flavor profile is dark similarly to the nose but there is splendid brightness and freshness to it. The texture is a bit chewy yet there is no fat to be found, this is one chiselled wine. Still a bit tight on the finish, although great with a steak, it surely has some cellaring potential. I have to say I find both the quality and the style extremely convincing.
Ikka- Nice note! I had the same reaction to this on my first bottle last winter. Really has everything in the right place. I have little experience with Sanzay, other than this came highly recommended so I bought a couple. Looking forward to my other bottle soon. If I had more bandwidth for staying on top of every region, and more resources, I’d pay more attention to Sanzay and gather up some more bottles for the cellar.
Yeah, I also struggle (it’s real!) with so many nice things popping up all over the place and my cellar capacity and drinking rate remaining constant. Things are better than ever when it comes to the availability of new cool small grower wines as the Internet has made the world (well, the EU in my case) so small. That being said this wine hit me like a two-by-four and I just have to allocate Sanzay some of my cellar space moving forward.
I bought several from Envoyer having little experience with these wines and being swayed by Alfert’s enthusiasm for Loire reds (he is an influencer, what can I say). These seemed like a good entry-level start so I didn’t end up paying $50/bottle for ashtrays, dead animals, or thin, green weedy shit. (No offense, Robert, just not in my wheelhouse). I have one in the rotation to try the next time I crank up the grill.
I opened a bottle of the 2015 Les Poyeaux. Similar profile to the domaine wine aromatically and in terms of flavor, but significantly more structured and somewhat closed. A little pricey here at around $50-$60, relative to other Loire cab franc, but for me it certainly warrants a bit of space in the cellar.
I am pretty appreciative of the different styles of Loire CF (while having had my fair share of undrinkable swill also), but can understand how some of them are an acquired taste, to say the least. Compared to most of them this bottle came off as borderline hedonistic - my gf commented on it very favorably while she did not care at all for the 2012 Alliet VV just a while ago.
Nice, thanks. I have a bottle of the 2014 Les Poyeux in the cellar, seems to perhaps need some more time sideways. Looking to buy the 2017 versions of this domaine bottling and Les Terres Rouges.
If it was the same email I just received, reread the 3rd sentance “One of them is Domaine de Sanzay, which is not to be confused with Antoine Sanzay.”. But a Les Poyeux bottling for $19.99/per seems like a worthwhile flyer.
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