94 points Wine Spectator: "[$60 list] This is elegant and enticing, with baking spice, salted butter and hazelnut notes up front, but with some air, flavors of honeysuckle, roasted pineapple and singed lemon peel emerge, giving this an edge. A flash of cardamom flows through the long, sea salt–infused finish. This complex version is still youthful and will only improve with age. Best from 2022 through 2034. 334 cases made, 100 cases imported. (11/15/20)"
90+ points Stephan Reinhardt (Wine Advocate): "The 2018 Saumur Blanc Les Chapaudaises comes from Bizay, two kilometers south of Brézé. Since 2006, the vines have rooted in a 40-centimeter-deep topsoil of loam, sand and clay over tuff limestone bedrock. Fermented with natural yeasts for a month, then aged for 12 months in older barrels and assembled in stainless steel for another six months, the intensely golden-yellow 2018 opens with an elegant, ripe and concentrated yet pure, fresh and slightly flinty bouquet with lovely brioche aromas from the extended less aging. Elegant, pure and fresh on the palate, this is a mineral-driven Chenin from younger vines and exceptional terroir. The finish is complex and tensioned as well as very long and intense. Very promising, also for future vintages of this excellent yet still young Saumur that will benefit from another year of bottle aging to polymerize its tannins even more successfully. Tasted in May 2021. Drink: 2023-2032. (Oct 2021)"
90+ points Stephan Reinhardt (Wine Advocate): "The 2018 Saumur Blanc Les Chapaudaises comes from Bizay, two kilometers south of Brézé. Since 2006, the vines have rooted in a 40-centimeter-deep topsoil of loam, sand and clay over tuff limestone bedrock. Fermented with natural yeasts for a month, then aged for 12 months in older barrels and assembled in stainless steel for another six months, the intensely golden-yellow 2018 opens with an elegant, ripe and concentrated yet pure, fresh and slightly flinty bouquet with lovely brioche aromas from the extended less aging. Elegant, pure and fresh on the palate, this is a mineral-driven Chenin from younger vines and exceptional terroir. The finish is complex and tensioned as well as very long and intense. Very promising, also for future vintages of this excellent yet still young Saumur that will benefit from another year of bottle aging to polymerize its tannins even more successfully. Tasted in May 2021. Drink: 2023-2032. (Oct 2021)"
| Product SKU | 341185 |
| Producer | stater-west/brendan |
| Country | France |
| Region | Loire |
| SubRegion | Saumur/Saumur-Champigny |
| Varietal | Chenin Blanc |
| Vintage | 2018 |
| Size | 750ml |
| Color | White |
| ABV | 12.5% |
| Ships To |
