To me Bernaudeau is the best maker of Chenin Blanc. Nobody beside. Ok you got some saying Leroy, but it’s a bit of a different wine to me, as it’s more, lets say ‘wide’. Bernaudeau is more focused. But listen I haven’t had them both in all vintages across 15 years so this is just my quick take. Some would say Boudignon is up there too.
For the young generation I’ve been particularly impressed with Clos des Plantes(Lejeune). His Poïesis 24 Mois was unbelievably good— infanticide of me to open one this early. Then Martial Angeli has taken over the Ferme de la Sansonniere(from 22?) and his wines has been amazing thus far but it’s really at the early stage, however the samples I’ve had has been very different from the wines of his father.
Got a handful of Lalannes that are on rotation for my next trip, if reviews say they’re approachable.
Honey, spring flowers, lemon and butterscotch on the nose, some orange peel too, then a waxy mouthful of the same, with waves of each flavour coming and going, followed by a crisp finish that gives it the necessary balance. Starting to taste like a Meursault, but at a fraction of the price. Well worth a try! 93 pts
Thank you… The Boudignon hype exploded where I’m located this year. Clos de la Hutte has always been available, but the 22 that came out earlier here sold out pretty fast. Wine journalists in Norway are calling him the worlds best maker of CB.
The pricing is fine, so give it a go. Belargus Les Quarts has also received some quite good remarks. But in the end it’s all a matter of personal taste. Some like the waxy and hot fruited things and some like the cold laser focused things. Some like it young and some aged.
I represented Mabileau for a couple vintages just before getting out of the business. Nice wines that don’t seem to get much attention. Super nice guy. Not sure if you’re aware that he died in a plane crash about five years ago. Not sure who is running the domaine now.
I couldn’t agree more about the quality - I’m a great fan of their reds, especially L’Eclipse, but they’re all good and very underrated. This is the first white I’ve tried. I did know about his untimely demise - the domaine is now run by his widow and increasingly, I believe, by their son. They seem to be doing well.
Cool. Yes, I met the wife and son too. All really nice people. Energetic but humble.
I mainly picked them up because I needed some Cab Franc and already had some Chenin but gladly took on the Chenin too!
Boudignon isn’t at the top for me, but I understand them being in the conversation. I far prefer them to the Collier wines I’ve had, which have been a bit too “natural” tasting for my liking.
Different strokes and so on …
And I don’t think it serves any purpose to compare so different wines: Boudignon electric, Collier stately, rich. I like both just as they are. But I would never put Collier in the natural camp?
I don’t know how the wines are made, but I’ve identified the producer in a single blind tasting based on the VA and oxidative notes. They always come across that way to me.
That’s odd, I’ve never detected any VA or oxidative notes with the Domaine du Collier wines. I never really saw them as part of the “natural” camp that I’d associate with other Loire producers like Mosse or Ferme de la Sansonniere.
Within the last couple of years I’ve had a 2019 Saumur Blanc and a 2015 Le Charpentrie that were both really impressive. Stately is a good word for them. I think they’re worth giving another shot!
I love the whites from Collier. Personally I would put them in the natural wine camp based on how they are made and their farming. But it all falls on how much (if any) so2 you allow at bottling in regards to the term and if natural wine is a style or technicality (or both) to you.
Me either. I drink 12-20 bottles a year and they will soon be my largest holding by producer in my cellar.
I think they are the best whites being made in the Loire, and up there with any white wine from anywhere. I think the reds are excellent, too, but they don’t excite me the same way. They are very much like the Rougeard Brézé but more refined and “stately” (I like that). I also buy, cellar, and really enjoy Boudignon and to a lesser extent Guiberteau.
Not my experience either. I had more than a fair share of Chenins and Collier is the last one I would put in this corner. I had somewhere between 5 and 10 bottles in the last year or two, Saumur and Charpentrie. Admittedly not aged, all under 5 years.
NOSE: intense aromatics, featuring elderflower and high-pitched yellow fruits.
BODY: medium-light bodied. medium-light pale green-yellow color.
TASTE: lovely juicy acidity (high acid); on the softer side, but not flabby; 12% abv not noticeable; excellent, but not the best vintage I’ve had of this bottling. Drink or Hold.
My first since March 2022 and it hasn’t changed much, evolving at a glacial pace. Lemon and lime aromas, with sea spray and spring flowers, just a touch of orange peel too. Apples and pears on the palate at first followed by zesty lemon and lime, white peach and some more crisp pear on the finish. Chiselled, laser-sharp acidity with enough rounded fruit midpalate to give it complexity and style. My sort of Savennières, with a long future ahead.
This cost 30€ at release, more recent vintages cost 40€, but that’s still competitive when you compare to the bigger names. 93 pts