2009 Pascal Janvier "Cuvée Silex" Jasnieres

If you don't know the appellation of Jasnières, get to know it through the wines of this talented vigneron. Jasnières will never be mainstream. It hails from a tiny, stony hillside along the Loir River (a tributary of the Loire River), north of Vouvray, and the grape grown here is the Pineau de la Loire, otherwise known as Chenin Blanc. Janvier's 'Silex' takes minerality to the extreme, and this wine is redolent with crushed stone and citrus skin aromatics and flavors. Intense, and very clean and long, this will age beautifully thanks to its naturally high acidity. 93 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: "Currently originating in two vineyards – including some of his oldest vines (albeit at a mere 40 years) – Janvier’s 2009 Jasnieres Cuvee du Silex smells even muskier than his “regular” cuvee – as well as of radish and white truffle – and is thereafter more oriented toward diversity of mineral notes than either of his two ostensibly lesser wines in this vintage. The sweet, saline savor here is akin to fresh scallops and lobster shell reduction, while there is a crystalline sense of mineral impingement that seems to shimmer in its enduring interaction with quince, orange essence, and cherry pit. This practically trance-inducing, mind-boggling value will, I suspect, be worth following for at least 6-8 years, but quite possible much longer." (08/10)