🏰 This rare white from Clos Rougeard is entirely Chenin Blanc from the famed Brézé hill, sourced from 60+ year old vines, some of the oldest in the entire region. The 2018 vintage in the Loire Valley was warm, but this wine successfully achieved balance, showcasing a harmonious blend between the traditional savory and powerful style and a fresher, more tense modern approach. It displays a pale lemon-yellow color with light golden highlights. The nose is fragrant and precise, even coating, with a tangy touch of yellow fruits, 【crisp Golden Delicious apple, candied quince, honey-roasted apricot, hints of reduction, beeswax, iodine, and cereal】. It offers a salty mineral nose, lightly reductive, very finessed and confident. On the palate, it is broad and heady with good acidity, silky and seductive, with a polished middle of honeyed citrus fruits, conveying an impression of fresh elegance. It's a powerhouse that lingers, with flavors of lemon curd, peachy fruit, smoky reduction, apple jam, stony mineral nuances, creamy oak, and toasted wood spice. Despite its breadth and ripeness, it maintains high acidity, making it surprisingly fresh, focused, and structured, leading to a long, intensely flavored, and concentrated finish with stony minerality and a touch of vanilla. 🍴 Excellent with chicken and turkey. It also pairs perfectly with raw fish preparations like sushi and sashimi, oysters and other seafood, goat cheese with bloomy rind, poultry in creamy sauce, and seasonal vegetables. 🥂 Ideal for a sophisticated dinner, a celebration of fine Loire Chenin Blanc, or an evening dedicated to gourmet seafood. Serving suggestion: Serve at 8-10°C (46-50°F). Decanting or aeration is recommended to fully reveal its complexity. This wine can be enjoyed until approximately 2036.