2013 Chenin Blanc La Roche Bézigon J. C. Garnier Review And Tasting Notes
2013 J.C. Garnier La Roche Bézigon: the Chenin Blanc that, although not orthodox, has now redefined the grape variety.
If it is true that the classic Chenin Blanc is fresh, honeyed, and full of flowers and minerals. In the Loire, winemakers tend to produce very easygoing wines. Still, the legendary J. C. Garnier has finally found the way to give fullness to a noble wine like Chenin Blanc, making a natural wine full of charm, pulpy, born from extended maceration and boasting a suggestive depth.
With this, we do not mean that wine is difficult or abstruse, but it is simply a story. A supple wine, where yeasts, oxidation, evolved, and balsamic tones play an essential role in creating a gustatory and aromatic texture of excellent caliber.
Do not expect a clear and aseptic wine, but not even a un untidy wine: it is simply a real wine, an artisan product.
The bouquet
The nose immediately shows a beautiful character, evolved ripe fruit, never boiling: it opens with honey, quinces, peaches, and chamomile, all framed by splendid mineral notes.
But don’t think of the usual smell of rock and flint.
Here there is much more, the true essence of Chenin Blanc, what makes it great, for which darker aromas arrive, of saffron, licorice and flows into a triumph of truffles.
Walnuts and hazelnuts are not lacking, but it is a pleasant nutty note: the oxidation helps expand the aromatic boundaries without becoming a weakness.
The flavor
It is irrepressible, full, a storm of salt and citrus fruits in a constant struggle in the mouth. The acidity is stellar but well-balanced, impeccably fused into a graceful structure.
The body is medium. It translates into sensations a unique terroir like that of Savennières, a splendid example of what the Loire Valley can offer. The minerality is exquisite. It gives vigor and rigor to the wine, which begins to show signs of evolution: the fruit is fleshy and juicy, but it is softening.
Finish with honey, chamomile, quince gelee, and baked apple. Balanced it is already, but this wine still deserves to be tasted in 5, 10, 15, and 20 years. With all this acidity, it will age gracefully.
Food Pairings
This thickness deserves combinations of substance: white pizza with scamorza and zucchini, Parmigiana ravioli, spaghetti with clams, chicken tikka masala, Chicken Cacciatore, Vitello Tonnato, truffle risotto, pasta alla carbonara.