Loire 2023 Releases

This comes from various parcels of younger vines, aged around 20 years old. The name is a tongue-in-cheek nod to a dispute many years back with a neighbouring vigneron. In Savennières, the vignerons have a wicked sense of humour as well as great pride in their appellation. The grapes are picked at the beginning of harvest, and there is a pithy, almost spicy, salty tang to the dry but juicy palate. It's the lightest weight of the Closel wines, and will drink brilliantly from early on.

This is the flagship wine of the estate, offering up power, precision, and remarkable ageing ability. It shows a heady concoction of sweet blossom and candied citrus notes on the nose, with a palate of electrifying power. Vivid freshness and impressive weight culminates on the long finish. Truly outstanding.

These vines are grown on sandstone soils, and are picked around 10 days after La Jalousie, when the skins are a little thicker and beginning to turn golden brown. The wine is aged for 18 months in demi-muids, and the result is a wine that so perfectly captures the essence of Chenin Blanc. This is all crisp russet apple with just a hint of nutty complexity emerging. The palate is, whilst arresting in its freshness, also so silky in texture - a quality Evelyne says is typical of Les Caillardières. This is the dark horse of the Closel cellar: one to drink before the Clos du Papillon perhaps, but capably of giving as much enjoyment from its complex layer.