Chenin, Loire Valley, France

A textural, tart and zero-zero Loire chenin for those in the know – now that’s YOU! Originally from Brittany, Jean Christophe Garnier worked as a sommelier before moving into winemaking, and acclimating himself to the region by working for Loire royalty, Marc Angeli. FUN FACT! As a ‘thank you’, Mark offered JC a wine press and also helped him find a vineyard for sale to get him on his way! Here, on the south side of the Layon River, JC tends to small plots of Loire specialties like chenin, cabernet franc, grolleau, gamay & pineau d’aunis, ranging from 30-60 years in age. Bezigon is a four hectare lieu-dit, with two hectares planted to mostly 25-year-old chenin, and a small amount of pineau d’aunis. The vines have no neighbours except for a sprawling forest, and the soils are composed of very well-draining green schist, which get their distinct green colour from the minerals chlorite, epidote, and actinolite! Harvested late, slowly direct-pressed and often bottled first, ‘La Roche Bezigon’ is slathered in apricot jam, with soursop, green apple slice, a pile of stones, beeswax chew, grapefruit peel, leesy weight & a lemon juice river-run. Pour alongside your choice of pan seared fish and steamed vegetables.