A Schist Plateau Facing the Loire
Downstream of Angers, on the right bank of the Loire, Savennières spans three communes. It is one of Anjou's historic grands crus, alongside the sweet wines of Quarts de Chaume and Bonnezeaux, but in an entirely dry register — a rare case for so renowned a terroir.
The Terroir: Schist, Rhyolite and Exposure
The vineyard occupies a schist plateau fissured by lava flows, forming slopes well exposed to the river. The shallow soils blend sandstone-rich schist, volcanic rhyolite seams and wind-blown sands. A semi-oceanic climate, in which storms are often deflected to the opposite bank, completes these ideal conditions for a concentrated, mineral Chenin.
The Style of the Wines
Savennières is a dry white of great breeding: taut, structured, richly aromatic (quince, flowers, honey, flint), it can seem austere in its youth before blossoming. It reaches maturity around five years and cellars for fifteen years and beyond. The Clos de la Coulée de Serrant, a monopole nestled within the appellation, is its most legendary expression.