Brendan Stater-West Saumur Blanc Les Chapaudaises 2016

Les Chapaudaises is the vineyard Brendan Stater-West started with, a single hectare of Chenin Blanc on the limestone at Bizay in Saumur.

Saumur Blanc is Chenin grown on tuffeau, the soft chalky limestone that also gives the region its cellars cut into the hillsides, and it is a leaner, more mineral expression of the grape than the Anjou schist further west. Stater-West is an American who came to France as an English teacher in Paris, moved into the wine trade, and in 2011 joined Romain Guiberteau's cellar at Saint-Just-sur-Dive, taking a BTS in viticulture and oenology while working there. He made his first wine under his own name in 2015 from this one hectare, and has since added parcels on Brézé. The vineyards are certified organic and worked with herbal teas, compost and cover crops of fava bean, rye, mustard and vetch. Fermentation is with ambient yeasts, the wine spends about eighteen months in used barrels, and sulphur is kept low.

Approachable now, better with three to five years. Serve at 10–12°C with roast chicken, grilled scallops or a mature goat's cheese.

*Every effort is made to ensure the current vintage is accurate; however, variations can occur. If you are after a specific vintage, please contact us prior to ordering.