2010 Domaine du Closel "La Jalousie" Savennieres (Previously $20)

Proprietor Michèle de Jessey's great-great-grandfather was the Chamberlain and Chief Memorialist to the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. She inherited the estate in 1961 when her aunt, Madame du Closel, the former proprietor/winemaker, searched for a successor throughout her extensive family. Madame de Jessey was chosen for her love and respect for the wine, vineyards, and traditions of Savennières. This love that is evident in her wines. She went on to become much respected for her technical expertise and served as the first woman in France to be President of an Appellation Contrôlée. The estate consists of 12 hectares of Chenin Blanc vines. The soil is shallow sandy topsoil on a deep bed of schist and volcanic rock. The vines are rigorously pruned to produce 4 to 6 buds on two canes. This keeps the yields low, from 20 to 40 hl/ha in any given vintage. The microclimate is defined by the protecting hillsides, and the best hilltop vineyards are exposed to high winds that keep the grapes cool and free of rot. The grapes are picked by hand under selection, or tri, and the vinification is slow under controlled temperatures. Savennières la Jalousie (formerly les Coulées, or Cuvée Classique, i.e. dry) is a classic Savennières from a stainless-steel cuvée of young and older vines from their steepest soils of pure schist. Intense!