Tasting Notes
100% Chenin Blanc. The L’Esprit line of wines began at Closel in the 2017 vintage, when virtually all of the estate Chenin crop was decimated by spring frost, and will be used for Closel bottlings that diverge in some way from the classic [and expected] estate Savennières. In this case, the wine is Chenin Blanc made at Closel, as we expect it to be, but for the first time ever from a a small quantity of purchased fruit, from a single parcel across the river in Anjou, organically farmed and consisting of 10-70-year-old vines on schist soils. The hand-harvested fruit was gently pressed, fermented spontaneously with native yeasts in tank with minimal sulfur and allowed to go through a spontaneous malolactic fermentation. The wine was aged for 10 momths on its lees in old barrels, with occasional bâtonnage, and bottled with a gentle filtration. Thie wine takes its name from the belle-dame or “painted lady” butterfly that frequents local vineyards.