Boudignon/Thibaud Savennières Clos de Frémine 2018

93+ points John Gilman (View From the Cellar): "Thibaud Boudignon is Bordelais by birth, but cut his teeth working in Gevrey-Chambertin with Philippe Charlopin. He came to Savennières to oversee winemaking at Château Soucherie and started his own small project on the side in 2009. He farms his vines organically and raises his Savennières in demi-muids, with ten percent new. His parcel in Clos de Frémine was only planted in 2015, so 2018 is only the second vintage from these young vines (if he was able to produce one in the frost-damaged year of 2017). The wine is beautifully low octane for 2018, coming in at 12.5 percent and offering up a precise and classy nose of quince, lemon, chalky soil tones, lanolin, beeswax and a hint of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is crisp, full-bodied, focused and nascently complex, with a fine core, lovely soil signature, a superb girdle of acidity and a long, beautifully balanced and quite promising finish. With so many examples of Savennières getting a bit top heavy with ripeness in this age of global warming, the lithe and snappy personality of this bottling is a breath of fresh air! Fine juice. 2021-2045. (May/Jun 2021)"

Bordeaux native Thibaud Boudignon is one of the most exciting up-and-coming producers in the Loire Valley. He has been producing organic and biodynamic wines under his own name since 2009 and emphasizes a minimalist mentality in his cellar. ‘Clos de Frémine’ is located just bloew ‘Clos de la Hutte’ and is dominated by schist and sandstone soils. Fruit is vinified entirely in demi muids, leading to a luscious and round wine loaded with flavors of mandarin, yellow apple, schist, and saline.