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All in Due Time at Château d’Epiré

All in Due Time at Château d’Epiré

by Anthony Lynch by Anthony Lynch

2018 Savennières

2018 Savennières

Château d’Epiré   

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Standing in Château d’Epiré’s chilly cellar, housed in a perfectly preserved Romanesque church dating back to the twelfth century, one has the impression that time has stood still. But a quick look around reveals that the clock has ticked as much here as anywhere else, especially when greeted by the young face of Paul Bizard, the fifth and latest generation of Bizards to cultivate the schist-laden vineyards surrounding the château.
          Paul shows ambition and determination in his work, with fresh ideas on the horizon to take this historic domaine to the next level. Any changes he should implement would be with the goal of achieving a purer expression of the strikingly rocky terroir he farms in Savennières, and this was also his primary objective with his first harvest in charge, the 2018.
Chenin Blanc’s floral qualities shine through unabashedly, generously ex-pressing acacia and jasmine. On the palate, a firm core of minerality and racy acidity keep this bone-dry white sharp as a razor, with a lovely fleshiness and trademark hint of walnuts on the finish.
         Things may be evolving at Epiré with the passage of time, and the changing of the guard certainly suggests good things to come from this literal church of Chenin Blanc. We can count on this domaine now as much as ever to deliver bracingly fresh, stony Savennières, just the way we like it.

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About The Region

Loire

map of Loire

The defining feature of the Loire Valley, not surprisingly, is the Loire River. As the longest river in France, spanning more than 600 miles, this river connects seemingly disparate wine regions. Why else would Sancerre, with its Kimmeridgian limestone terroir be connected to Muscadet, an appellation that is 250 miles away?

Secondary in relevance to the historical, climatic, environmental, and cultural importance of the river are the wines and châteaux of the Jardin de la France. The kings and nobility of France built many hundreds of châteaux in the Loire but wine preceded the arrival of the noblesse and has since out-lived them as well.

Diversity abounds in the Loire. The aforementioned Kimmderidgian limestone of Sancerre is also found in Chablis. Chinon, Bourgueil, and Saumur boast the presence of tuffeau, a type of limestone unique to the Loire that has a yellowish tinge and a chalky texture. Savennières has schist, while Muscadet has volcanic, granite, and serpentinite based soils. In addition to geologic diversity, many, grape varieties are grown there too: Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, and Melon de Bourgogne are most prevalent, but (to name a few) Pinot Gris, Grolleau, Pinot Noir, Pineau d’Aunis, and Folle Blanche are also planted. These myriad of viticultural influences leads to the high quality production of every type of wine: red, white, rosé, sparkling, and dessert.

Like the Rhône and Provence, some of Kermit’s first imports came from the Loire, most notably the wines of Charles Joguet and Château d’Epiré—two producers who are featured in Kermit’s book Adventures on the Wine Route and with whom we still work today.

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Old cob-webbed wine bottles

Living wines have ups and downs just as people do, periods of glory and dog days, too. If wine did not remind me of real life, I would not care about it so much.