2020 Savennières, Bigottière, Terra Vita Vinum, Loire

Terra Vita Vinum

Located just south of Angers in Mozé-sur-Louet, the Anjou Noir part of Anjou-Saumur, Terra Vita Vinum boasts 30 hectares of vineyards planted on dark schist and granite soils. Bénédicte Petit and Luc Briand took over the Estate from the Richou family in 2019, from which point their sole focus was to make some of the most terroir expressive Chenin Blanc wines.

All farmed biodynamically (Demeter certified), Terra Vita Vinum’s philosophy is low interventionist winemaking for the vineyards to speak for themselves - ‘We do everything possible to produce terroir wines with the greatest transparency to deliver unique emotions’. Only natural yeast found on the grapes are used for fermentation, conducted in many different types of vessels ranging from demi-muid, concrete egg, and amphora. Very little use of SO2 and no filtering and fining completes the winemaking. Their top cuvees are only released three years after harvest, half of this time spent maturing in the bottle.

The Estate has three ranges of cuvees intertwined with many grape varieties ranging from age-worthy Chenin Blanc to Grolleau, Gamay, Savagnin, Cabernet Franc, and a few others! Their Selections Parcellaires range is the focus today, with Chenin Blanc being their flagship varietal expressed through five different cuvees – Bigottière (Savennières AOC), Grandes Rogeries, Pavillon, Le Réau, and Grand Vau, all four in Anjou Blanc AOC. Cabernet Franc and Gamay are the stars for their red cuvees. It is a young project that already has a cult following and is becoming a favourite for Sommeliers worldwide.

Savennières

Savennières is a tiny white Anjou appellation (comprising Savennières, Savennières-Coulée-de-Serrant, and Savennières-Roche-aux-Moines) revered for its dry, full-bodied Chenin Blanc wines, grown on the ancient schistous/volcanic soils on the southern banks of the Loire. The best are hand-harvested by trie (often with a degree of noble rot), before being pressed and aged in oak barrels. Domaine du Closel is a good source.

Chenin Blanc

Chenin Blanc is an important white grape variety planted in the Anjou-Saumur and Touraine regions of the Loire Valley and the most widely planted varietal grape in South Africa.

In the Loire it produces high quality dry wines in Savenniéres, and luscious sweet, dessert wines in Coteaux du Layon, Bonnezeaux and Quarts de Chaume. In Vouvray and Montlouis it can be dry, medium dry, or sweet, and still or sparkling. Whether dry or sweet, the best Loire Chenin Blancs possess marvellously concentrated rich, honeyed fruit together with refreshingly vibrant acidity. It is Chenin Blanc's high acidity that enable the wines to age so well.

In South Africa Chenin Blanc is easier to grow and is prized for its versatility. It is used as a cheap blending option with Chardonnay, Colombard, and Muscat but also bottled unblended. The best producers keep their yields low and produce impressive mouthfilling wines.