Ch. de Villeneuve, Saumur-Champigny - The Essence of the Tuffeau itself!

/ letuffeau.com (Link) “Quite the complete package.” — James Lawther MW, jancisrobinson.com Reminder - Upcoming Events Bookings and Queries by reply email or 9419 3867 — Wednesday, 15th July 6.30pm The Great Tradition of Rioja - a guided tasting with David Murray — Blanco, Rosado, and Tinto Wines from R. Lopez de Heredia La Rioja Alta Hermanos Pecina Akutain $115.00 per ticket ~ enquire ~ — “I had not expected to drink something so serious, but here I was at a small party finding a glass of Chateau de Villeneuve in hand. I had just been exuberantly greeted by a 5-year-old from across the room and this atmosphere of unbridled joy and enthusiasm immediately struck a chord with the wine. Despite not intending to have more than a glass I soon had several, responsible pours. All seemed well. I knew I had to have this Loire Cabernet Franc wine in the shop and at home. Though, given both the region’s and the varietal’s track record, I felt open to disappointment. Maybe the moment had bejewelled the drink, adorned my tastebuds with finery beyond what I should reasonably expect. I revisited the wine today. In the cold, hard light of a wintry July afternoon. I was not left unimpressed. Indeed, while bolstered by good memory, the same sense of joie de vivre ran through the wine. Expanding my tasting to include its more expensive stable counterpart I found this wine similarly inflected. Here at last is an affordable and gracious expression of Saumur-Champigny. At last, Cabernet Franc! Though it seems ‘damning with faint praise’ to say, I should point out that these are clean and elegant wines. Free from Brettanomyces and other flaws. The Chateau de Villeneuve has existed since the late 16th Century. Its modern history, however, begins in the late 1960s when it purchased by the current owners, the famille Chevallier. Recently, they have finished a new winery which perhaps explains the sense of strictness and cleanliness apparent in their wine, and absent in many of their neighbours. The estate is small and traditional. Organic farming practices, though only recently certified, have long been the norm as are larger format old oak barrels used for elevage. The vines, too, are mature and low-yielding. Everything backgrounds what I see in the glass, which is as it should be.” — David — I Chateau de Villeneuve 2022 Saumur Champigny (Shelf Price: $69.00) Offer: $59.00 (15%-off) “The perfect wine to write a note on while enduring a less than warm day. I took the glass downstairs to Swanston Street and, evading the polizei, sampled in the sun. This led me to concur with Brillat-Savarin that a day without wine is like a day without sunshine. Certainly, if there was not even a moment of sun today then I would feel that my own mental fog would part with such a glass. Fresh and immediately expressive with delightful Cabernet Franc character, the 2022 estate Saumur-Champigny from Chateau de Villeneuve bursts from the glass with crushed blue and black fruits, wet limestone, turned loamy earth, and mild Dominican cigars. Trimming this delightful bouquet are hints of dark chocolate, blood orange, and sage. The palate lies on the lighter end of medium-bodied, its juicy core framed more by mouthwatering acidity than tannin though the latter is certainly present, slightly chalky in profile. Such Tuffeau-derived tannin and minerality only increases the moreishness of this wine. Crushed blueberry, fresh blackberries, and a hint of cherry make up the composite core with little elements each of blue, black, and red fruits contributing. Complexifying factors include touches of blood orange and herbs, further limestone, and a dab of piquant salinity on the close. A delight. Another glass, please?” — David Order here (Link) II Chateau de Villeneuve 2019 Saumur Champigny ‘Le Grand Clos’ (Shelf Price: $125.00) Offer: $104.00 (15%-off) “A wine demanding altogether more patience, the 2019 'Le Grand Clos' unwinds in the glass as if underscored by the Tuffeau itself. Minerality dominates the aromatic profile, along with earthen and tobacco nuances wreathed in smokey varietal notes and baking spices. Layers of sliced red and blue fruits are certainly present, but cigar humidor, loam, ceps, and underbrush feel more prominent at this stage. The layered, pressure-composite structure of the aromatics, like the famed Rock (Tuffeau, not Dwayne Johnson), adds to the intrigue of the wine. There is also a charming, Claret-like, graphite note that adds to the sense of reserve. Revisiting with air there are delightfully fresh aromas of blood orange, mint, sage, and crushed red fruits. The palate is silken and seamless on entry, then tends chalky in later mouthful with a delightfully sapid finish once again over pavers of Tuffeau. Tannins are finer than the grainy structure of the estate wine. Crushed blue fruits, some red cherry and a touch of cranberry; wet rock, crushed herbs, cured meat; blood orange, dried tarragon and sage; cracked black pepper. There is less a sense of melange and more one of array. More august but no less delicious. Fine!” — David Order here (Link) … Please join us for a drink soon. Reservations preferred. Bookings and after-6.00pm access: (03) 9419 3867 Tue. 11.00 am–6.00 pm Wed.–Sat. 11.00 am–11.00 pm — *** watch this space for The Antipodean Wine Digest with Mahmood Fazal & David Murray launching early August If you would like any of the above, would like to come by for a private appointment, or just have some questions — please let us know.