I. et S. Bernaudeau Les Coqueries 2020

Stéphane Bernaudeau is one of the Loire's most sought-after and hard-to-find producers — a grower who honed his craft at Marc Angeli's Ferme de la Sansonnière before establishing his own tiny operation of just over three hectares in Martigné-Briand in the Anjou-Saumur zone, farmed biodynamically without certification and made with the most minimal intervention the cellar will allow. Les Coqueries comes from a small parcel surrounding the Layon river, producing laser-sharp Chenin Blanc bursting with sunshine and minerality — vinified as Vin de France rather than a named appellation, a deliberate choice that frees Bernaudeau from appellation rules and allows him to express the terroir on his own terms. These wines have a distinctive depth, energy and minerality that makes them almost impossible to obtain despite their modest scale of production.

Expressive and rich on the nose with notes of apple, lime and salt — rich and fat on the palate with great purity of fruit and a very long mineral and saline finish. White peach, concentrated ripe citrus, salty saline minerality and flinty stones, with a rounded palate feel and long wooly finish — goes down very smoothly and easily, and dangerously fast. Citrus and iodised notes anticipate hints of hydrocarbon and on the palate it is an explosion of taste, with a vibrant acidity that gives it great evolutionary potential. This is one of those wines — thrilling young, profound with age, and almost impossible to find in the first place.