Domaine du Closel – Savennières

The family vineyard of the Domaine Du Closel is located in the historic Chateau des Vaults in the heart of the idyllic village of Savennières on the northern banks of the River Loire. This small village/wine appellation produces some of the finest, most mineral and long-lived white wines in the world from the Chenin Blanc grape.

Domaine du Closel is run by Evelyne de Pontbriand, a charming lady with an infectious smile and a remarkable ability to coax the best out of her Chenin Blanc grapes. The chateau and its grounds are truly magnificent – a fantastic and calming place to wander around on a warm summer’s day under the shelter of its many centuries-old trees.

The domaine’s wines have very low sulphur contents and are all certified biodynamic. Each bottling perfectly reflects its individual terroir.

“Jalousie” comes from hillside Chenin Blanc vineyards which look down over the Loire river in the distance. The terroir here is of schist and shale. The resulting wine is taut and crisp with crunchy fresh stone fruit flavours – typical of Savennières.

Le Clos Du Papillon is a magic plot of old vines with very deep roots grown on schist and volcanic soils in the best part of the vineyards. The grapes are picked by hand over several “tries” or pickings, so that only fully ripe and healthy grapes go into the wine. The naturally fermented wine then spends 1 year in old oak barrels, followed by another 6 months in large oak vats. This produces a deep, dry mineral white wine, rich in ripe and exotic fruit flavours, which has long ageing potential