The Chenin Blanc We Waited a Year For

With a full week of exploring the Loire Valley, Dan and I fully expected to find some killer Chenin Blanc - we’re both devotés of the grape, and applied ourselves seriously to the search. So, when we first met with Didier and Céline Sanzay, we were thrilled to come across the bright and fresh bottling from “Les Bazilles”, a small vineyard about 10 km from their winery. A standout in the lineup, it displayed immediate freshness and purity that had us hooked, and we were keen to add it to our order…like immediately.

“Désolé,” Céline responded, “We just don’t have enough this year.”

Rats! This was exactly the kind of Chenin Blanc we came looking for.

Fortunately, we did not come away from that first meeting empty-handed. Domaine des Sanzay produces a range of wines, from a juicy rosé, balanced and complex Cabernet Francs, and brilliant sparkling wines; we had plenty to excite us and to share with you.

Which is a critical aspect of working with any winemaker for us: Quality and consistency across the entire lineup. We’ve been to plenty of wineries where first we taste something exciting, only to be followed by a letdown. For us, the whole picture has to make sense, not just a one-off. It’s part of how we develop long-term relationships with our producers, so that when the new vintage is ready, we get to go back to them and jump on wines we love and have been waiting patiently to share with you.

Dan wrote a few weeks back about the warm relationship we’ve already developed with Céline and Dedier, who greeted us enthusiastically at a trade show in Montpellier this past winter. Even in the crowded trade hall (10,000 daily visitors!), they immediately invited us "behind the counter" for a personal tasting of their latest releases, with the same warmth and friendliness we remembered from our visit to the winery.

Among the wines they were pouring: the 2024 'Les Bazilles' Chenin Blanc.

“We have enough for you now!” They told us without us having to ask.

Domaine des Sanzay Saumur "Les Bazilles" 2024

Les Bazilles is part of the collection of vineyards that the Sanzay family has accrued over 5 generations of winemaking in the region of Saumur. It’s a small hillside parcel of Chenin - just .67 hectares (about 1.5 acres) - planted in the town of Montsoreau, overlooking the Loire River. With low yields to maintain quality, there's not a lot of juice in the end--which is why we jumped at the chance to bring this one in.

The wine is fermented in stainless steel tanks and is the first to be bottled every season, a beautiful Chenin Blanc meant to be drunk in its youth. But don’t mistake this for something simple. In the glass, the wine jumps out with aromas of white fruits, pear, and citrus, and a whiff of honey. The first sip will reveal a fresh, lively quality from Chenin’s naturally high acidity, balanced with a delicate fruitiness of fresh apples and yellow citrus, followed by a long, mouthwatering finish.

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Chenin Blanc reigns supreme in the central Loire - from Montlouis and Vouvray to Jasnières, Anjou, and even Chinon - but Saumur is where it finds an elegant balance of intensity and poise, and this wine is Exhibit A. The organically farmed vineyards of Domaine des Sanzay are just down the road from some of the best-known addresses in Saumur, including Roches Neuve, but for my money, you won’t find a better value for supremely drinkable Chenin Blanc. It is a standout at the winery, and in a crowd of 1500 exhibitors! I hope you will indulge in this one!