2021 Franc de Pied

Thibaud Boudignon is a recent entrant to Savennières, having started his project in 2009 and not leaving his role at Domaine de la Soucheraie until 2015. The purity of the wines of this former judo champion Thibaud Boudignon, is impeccable. His three Savennières - La Vigne Cendrée, Clos de Fremine and Clos de la Hutte - are within spitting distance of each other. Still, each has its own personality: Clos de la Fremine, whose sandy topsoil is delicate and open, whereas Clos de la Hutte, planted on schist, tends to be fuller and more brooding. The theme throughout the range is transparency and harnessed power of the wines, which marks a contrast to bigger, bolder Savennières styles produced elsewhere. In 2021, Boudignon planted a 2.5ha site less than a minute's walk from the other parcels: Devant Le Jeu. He also owns two hectares across the Loire in the Anjou appellation. Boudignon says he's stopping at that. There's a small, modern winery at the site, a few minutes' drive to the south of Savennières, completed in 2016. You'll find tanks and a range of barrels in various shapes and sizes, yet oak is used not to bring flavor but texture. Boudignon has an unusual albeit practical approach in the cellar: conducting the harvest in the vineyard and holding the juice at 3˚C until all the parcels are picked so that all the work in the vineyard is done and he can concentrate solely on making the wines. There's no malo here - it's cheating, according to Boudignon, although in 2021, that has made for some really steely wines that require you to be an acid fiend. It may only be a young domaine, but the clarity of the wines from young vines has made the world sit up and take note. The fruit for Boudignon's Anjou Blanc was brought in until 2021, when 50% of the fruit was estate-grown. The result is a pure, clean wine with delectable purity. There are delicate flavors of just-ripe pineapple, citrus and nettles and a subtle hint of vanilla - it is fermented and aged in both 500-liter barrels and oval Stockinger ‘cigars’. A line of acidity pulls this wine through to a refined conclusion. It can be approached now for its fine fruit but will go on.