If you were part of any royal court during the Renaissance and wanted to drink the finest wine in the land, a common request was for “Chenin de Brézé,” a colloquial term for Chenin Blanc from Château de Brézé. This towering castle and its historic, stone-wall-enclosed, hillside vineyards were responsible for crafting some of the greatest white wines of centuries past—bottles so revered, Château d’Yquem was regularly bartered for them! Fast forward to contemporary times, specifically 2009 and beyond, and biodynamic-minded Arnaud Lambert has once again catapulted these wines onto the global stage. His Chenins are hot-ticket items for those who appreciate age-worthy, fascinatingly complex whites supercharged with minerality.
Best of all, today’s “Clos de la Rue” is the apogee of Lambert’s stellar lineup; a phenomenal achievement that highlights the mesmerizing, chameleonic profile of dry, barrel-aged (two years!) Chenin Blanc. Take one sniff and I guarantee it’ll deliver aromas you’ve never smelled in white wine before, even for a seasoned drinker like me. Truly, no matter what you label Lambert’s 2016 “Clos de la Rue”—a bucket list wine; the Montrachet of the Loire; a terroir-loaded powerhouse—one thing is evidently clear: it’s among the most fascinating, distinctly textured whites coming out of France. Very limited quantities available.
Château de Brézé has been talked about in literature dating back to the 1400s when their wines were served at all the royal courts of Europe and enjoyed by society’s elite. However, the estate fell into disrepair for most of the 20th century and its renown was all but lost. A major lifeline came in 2009 when the property was purchased by Le Comte de Colbert, who then went on to build the very best team for renovations and organic implementation. One of these key players was Arnaud Lambert, who was given carte blanche to bring life back into the vines so they could reach their full potential. The results of their natural farming and updated cellar is astounding—the wines have once again begun expressing themselves as the greatest expressions of French white wine. As they say, history has a way of repeating itself...
The hill of Brézé is full of a soil known as tuffeau, made from fossilized sea organisms compressed over tens of millions of years. This soil is very similar to the chalky soils found in Chablis and Champagne, and similarly yields wines that shine with incredible minerality. Though the Brézé vineyard sprawls across dozens of acres, “Clos de la Rue” is one of their many walled parcels that traps warmth and blocks whipping winds allowing for more phenolic development and slightly richer wines. Within this insulated zone, soils are sandy limestone with deeper layers of clay and the region’s signature tuffeau. All grapes are farmed organically and harvested by hand. In the winery, the grapes undergo a long, ambient-yeast fermentation and the resulting wine matures in French oak, roughly one-third new, for a whopping two years. Following, the wine is transferred into stainless steel to “tighten up”
The seriousness and exoticism of Lambert’s 2016 “Clos de la Rue” spill right out of a decanter just minutes after opening. We were beyond perplexed by its aromatic arsenal, and yet it continues expanding and deepening with each 15-minute block. What stood out the most to me was a ginger snap and shaved nutmeg component—presumably from its extended exposure in partial new oak—over a bed of massively powerful stony/chalky minerality and nervous fruits. But give it ample air and a generous side comes out to play: white peach skin, yellow apple peel, tangerine rind, Meyer lemon, lime leaf, and beeswax along with dried chamomile and wildflowers. As for the palate? This is classic, top-shelf Saumur Chenin: Bone dry, medium-plus bodied, high acid, and radiating with minerals. Just imagine—this was the sort of wine kings were guzzling hundreds of years ago! Like the finest whites of the world, this will age beautifully, and you can expect it to start firing on all cylinders around 2022 while staying in a prime drinking window until 2030 and beyond. Cheers!
