Domaine du Collier 2021 Saumur Blanc, Loire Valley

$74.99 bottle / $399.99($66.66) six-pack (Next lowest price in the U.S. is $84.00)

Antoine Foucault is making some of the most exciting wines in the Loire Valley. The Domaine du Collier was created in 1999 by Antoine (son of Charly Foucault from the famed Clos Rougeard). Having worked at Clos Rougeard for four years, he took the opportunity to buy four-hectares of vines in the commune of Brézé in the best lieu-dit of 'La Ripaille'. The estate comprises 6 hectares with the vast majority of the estate planted to Chenin Blanc (including some 100-year old vines) and just under a hectare of Cabernet Franc. There is a substance to these wines that is impressive but more importantly there is clarity to them, a precision that demands attention. These are powerful, mineral-driven wines that do not assault the palate but seek to impress on grounds of their brilliant composition.  The 2021 Saumur Blanc is from low yielding old vines grown on predominantly clay limestone soils and is a very powerful and complex wine even while young. The palate is very lively and broad with crystalline Chenin fruit and Saumur minerality and super concentration.  As with the best Chenin Blanc, the magic happens as the wines age and evolve and this will do so magnificently through 2038.  Don’t buy this wine because it’s gong to be a collector’s item, buy it because it’s freakin’ great.