A 50/50 field blend of Savagnin and Chardonnay, the 2015 L'Etoile En Banode comes from a plot that names the wine, a vineyard planted in 1970. The two varieties are picked and fermented together, as they want to focus on...
A 50/50 field blend of Savagnin and Chardonnay, the 2015 L'Etoile En Banode comes from a plot that names the wine, a vineyard planted in 1970. The two varieties are picked and fermented together, as they want to focus on the soil and not the grape varieties. It's only in this vineyard, with deeper soil without marl that Chardonnay and Savagnin ripen at the same time, and that is possibly the reason why Nicole's father selected it to plant the two grapes together. This is the most tender of the 2015s, a warm and low-yielding year, with notes of green walnuts, white flowers, aromatic herbs and curcuma. It's very aromatic, expressive and clean, a clean expression of the young wines. The palate is round and lush, and the varieties feel very integrated; the flavors are pure and pungent but with a kind of tenderness not often found in the wines from the region. Re-tasted a few hours later, the wine had gained depth, had more volume and felt more textured, and next to the ouillé wine, the flor was quite evident. This is elegant and mineral in the lighter style Nicole likes. - LG