Guiberteau Saumur Blanc 'Breze' 2020

'The 2020 Breze shines gold in the glass. Aged for 24 months in barrel and six in tank, it's a powerful, ripe, smoky, toasty wine, almost as if someone's just served up a plate of smoky bacon. There's richness, succulent density and an attractive saltiness here. Energetic in the glass, the 2020 is almost chewy, like a meal in itself. It will leave you salivating.' 95 points, Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous

100% Chenin Blanc. The modern renaissance of Chenin de Breze (as it was once known) owes a great deal to the Foucault brothers' Breze bottling and, more recently, to a new generation of growers like Guiberteau. This striking wine comes from two small parcels of mature vines (planted in 1933 and 1952) within the fabled Breze climat, a terroir that once produced wines as revered as those of the greatest vineyards of Burgundy and Bordeaux. The lion's share of the fruit comes from an important lieu-dit called Bourguenne, while one-quarter of the fruit is also drawn from the historic Clos de Carmes terroir.

Guiberteau now uses larger-format barrels from different coopers. He prefers Atelier Centre France's thick-staved demi-muids for this wine, and he's also engaged Clos Rougeard's local artisan cooper Dussiaux, whose barrels bring smoky/cedary complexity to this wine in its youth. Furthermore, Breze now spends two years in barrel (50% new) and six months in tank, recognising its potency and coiled energy.

Year in and year out, this reminds us of the force of this incredible terroir. This place can simultaneously deliver the texture and savoury reduction of great white Burgundy and the raciness of great German Riesling. If the Clos de Guichaux calls to mind excellent Chablis, the Breze style leans towards the textural richness of fine Meursault (at a fraction of the price). From a powerful year, 2020 is still a babe in arms, bristling with dry extract, smoky reductive notes, nutty complexity and vinous intensity. The distinction of the Breze terroir shines through in the wine's supercharged minerality; full of chalky intensity, salinity and tension, it is reminiscent of the historic Coche-Dury style of white and unbelievably impressive and seductive. Importer Notes.