La Bretonnière 2023 La Taille aux Loups | Loire

La Bretonnière is a special cuvée classified as a Vin de France, although unofficially it's a Vouvray. The reason is simple: the parcel is located on a terroir other than Montlouis, the historic home of the La Taille aux Loups wine estate. Indeed, Jacky Blot has extended his vineyard to the other side of the Montlouis sur Loire appellation, in the prestigious village of Vouvray. A great advocate of Chenin on any terroir, he is keen to reproduce his work on an appellation he knows little about. He continues to work the soil with as much passion as he does in Montlouis, returning to the plough and using successive sortings during the harvest to preserve only the best grapes.

Philippe Mischler, sommelier at Mundovin: The "Bretonnière" parcel is one of the least famous on the La Taille aux Loups wine estate. But it's far from being uninteresting, on the contrary. The fact that it's on Vouvray terroirs like the "Venise" cuvée gives it a very different character. Here, Jacky Blot focuses on the minerality typical of Vouvray terroirs, with only moderate barrel ageing. It's one of my favorite terroir cuvées, as it's tauter and more chiselled.

The nose is very fresh and precise. The notes are essentially citrus, mineral and a very noble vegetal touch (mentholated). The ageing is still evident, but after decanting the minerality takes over.

On the palate, the attack is of great purity, the acidity is sharp, it's a wine I'd describe as crystalline in its brilliance. The breed of the terroir speaks for itself: this Chenin is incredibly clean. This is Vouvray at its very best, and thank you Jacky Blot for bringing us so many emotions.