Thibaud Boudignon Savennieres Les Fougeraies, Loire, France 2015

Vinified in 220- and 500-liter oak barrels (10% of which were new) to enhance the structure of a wine cultivated on sandy soils, Thibaud's 2016 Savennières Les Fougerais opens with an intense, precise, spicy and elegant nose that displays tropical fruit aromas along with notes of apricots and nectarines. Enormously aromatic and salty on the palate, with perfectly ripe and juicy fruit, this is a full-bodied, round and intense Chenin Blanc with very fine tannins and great elegance as well as finesse. The wine is tight but transparent, very well balanced, long and salty.

Originally from Bordeaux, Thibaud Boudignon honed his winemaking skills in Burgundy before moving to the Loire Valley as winemaker for Chateau Soucherie, where he helped the venerable estate to new splendor within a very short time. While still working at Soucherie, he set up his own domaine in the Savennières AOC in 2009. After he had studied numerous old books on Chenin Blanc and the Loire region, he knew that is where he wanted to collect his parcels, and the most famous one became the 0.5-hectare Clos de la Hutte in La Possonnière. His own first vintage was 2011, and he left Chateau Soucherie in 2015. Thibaud aims for precise, fresh, structured and mineral-driven terroir wines from organic, particularly biodynamic, top vineyards planted with either old vines or top genetics. His wines are vinified in oak barrels from 220 to 700 liters and do not undergo malolactic fermentation. The Chenins from Thibaud Boudignon are pretty expensive but worth the investment. The wines are rare, sought-after and top stars in the sommelier scene in Paris and elsewhere.