Domaine Guiberteau, Saumur, Clos des Carmes

100% organically farmed Chenin Blanc from a south-facing monopole parcel in Brézé, planted between 2004 and 2005. Only less than half of the total production from the vineyard is used in this cuvée. The wine is vinified more or less the same way as the regular Brézé: the grapes are whole bunch pressed, fermented spontaneously, no MLF, aged in new and once or twice used demi-muids and other barrels for 18-24 months. Blended into stainless steel tanks and left to …

2013 vintage

Birthday party (Chicago, IL) : From magnum. High acid, but lacking complexity and definition on the palate. Must admit I am not a big fan of this style of chenin (Huet is the way chenin should be made) and I'd much rather drink chardonnay if it's made like this.

2013 vintage

very nice nose of citrus, grilled almonds, hint of reduction, white flowers… taste is very concentrated with high refreshing acidity, good lenght, very nice wine!

2018 vintage

A little vegetal/green pepper on PnP but relaxed quickly and brought that signature acidity with cotton candy notes. Still prefer the 2014 but this was also quite lovely.

2013 vintage

Great wine !

2013 vintage

Young, tight, and laser focused. High acid with a bit of flinty reduction. Very good.

2013 vintage

-- double-decanted immediately before initial taste -- -- tasted non-blind over a couple hours on Day 1; revisited on Day 5 -- NOSE: initially, reductive with moderately-aged Chenin aromas; reminded me a bit of an oxidative Viura; light note of caramel popcorn at the 1.5hr mark. BODY: medium-light maize color; medium-light to medium bodied. TASTE: high acidity; lots of mineral, but some fruit finally starting to emerge; orange oil; papaya; lemony gueuze (Cantillon); apples on the finish; a little thin …

2013 vintage

Sandalwood, honeysuckle, quince, hint of reduction and green apple on the nose. High, very green acidity gives this wine energy with a green apple finish. Don’t think this is as good a vintage as most.

2013 vintage

Late Birthday BYO : Blind. Tydelig modenhet, meget høy syre, intens, noe champignon, ikke fullstendig balanse med den syren. Drikk opp?

2013 vintage

Dinner at Hermosa (Chicago, IL) : Starting to show a little bit of age in that there's a little fuzziness as far as Guiberteau is concerned -- there's some of the archetypal chenin furriness starting to emerge, and the reduction and minerality seem to be not as clear cut as I would expect from the white wines. Impressive richness and weight, even if I do prefer a hair more residual sugar to give this wine a little more roundness. The …

2013 vintage

A private dinner (Restaurant Zoldering, Amsterdam, NL) : Opinions about this wine seem to differ wildly, but make no mistake: this is a cracking wine. Tangy acidity, marvellous minerally energy, flawless varietal typicity (but no wooliness, fortunately), warmth and gentle bitters from the wood, succulent fruit, has fleshed out with age to a lovely honeyed richness, green apple finish.

2013 vintage

Quite tertiary already. Got better with about 90 minutes of air but rather simple and not a great vintage. Don’t keep

2013 vintage

In a double blind lineup alongside the ‘14 Breze (and a handful of Leroys). The stylistic difference between the two producers was obvious, while the kinship of these two was apparent. Both are more classical and Burgundian in style, with the ‘14 being a bit racier and the ‘13 being a bit riper and rounder. Both very good; accessible now and should age well.

2013 vintage

The acidity was ripping on this - enamel stripping - extremely austere. Not enough fruit to balance the acid. Even with age, I don't see how these will become enjoyable. As a big fan of Guiberteau, this one was disappointing.

2013 vintage

Too acidic. Subtle complex flavours overwhelmed by some of the highest acidity I’ve ever encountered in a quality bottle of wine.

2013 vintage

1.5 years since my last bottle and this has not moved a lot. nose is still quite dominated by oak followed by yellow apples, pears and florals. On the palate very racy with lemons and minerals. Leaner than other vintages that I have enjoyed and can be fatiguing without the right food pairing. Will wait 2-3 years for my next bottle

2013 vintage

-- popped and poured -- -- tasted non-blind over a few hours on Day 1; revisited on Day 2 -- NOSE: initially tight and a bit oaky; hint of anejo tequila; a strong note of cilantro would come and go, as well. Broadened *a little* on Day 2. BODY: green-yellow color of medium-light intensity; medium bodied. TASTE: tart; very high acidity; medium+ oak (wish it was less); tight fruit; a touch creamy; would like to see more fruit and mineral …

2013 vintage

A fair touch of reduction on the nose here. The oak use here is showing really prominently, but fortunately there aren't any oak tannins or anything messed up like that on the palate. This is a very crisp and racy wine, with clean acidity and plenty of minerality. Perhaps not broad enough for the oak, but the oak is handled well nonetheless. Would be interesting to see where this goes with even more age.

2013 vintage

Best served after bottle-breathe for 2+ hours. First the foremost, the acidity is high but nicely balanced by appropriately intense flavours of orchard fruits, lemon, citrus peel and salinity. Plenty of minerality. But it doesn't have the signature wooly flavour, nor the density of most other Guiberteau Breze blanc. Very good but not great.

2013 vintage

This is such an interesting wine, the nose is full of yellow apples, and pear yet there is a flinty salinity that is lingering in the back that's almost undetectable. A light medium gold in the glass there's a real sense of richness and depth on the nose that's immediately intriguing. The palate is unapologetically lean and dry, the acidity drives a path down the palate like Big Papi Ortiz was driving a home run clean over the second-baseman's head …

2013 vintage

Chenin at Table, Donkey and Stick (Chicago, IL) : I seem to be all over the place on this wine. Just can't quite figure it out yet. Perhaps with time, it'll start rounding out like some of the older wines (the 2010 is a real role model). Cut from the same reductive cloth, there are definitely similarities between this and the 2010. However, I feel like this veered just a little farther to the acid/steel side than the amount of …

2013 vintage

Monday blinds (Chicago, IL) : Served double blind. The nose here is great -- there's a reductive element here that reminds me of Coche (basically that popcorn thing). The palate however, shows far too much green. It's way too lean and doesn't seem to have any ripeness to balance that crazy acidity. A little disappointing, really. Based on that acidity though, I was guessing young old world chardonnay (white Burgundy, really).

2013 vintage

Dinner at Table, Donkey and Stick (Chicago, IL) : This is probably the best Guiberteau wine I've had (the 2008 notwithstanding). There's something that is very chenin about this wine, even though this isn't woolly at all. There's a very crisp, yellow-fruited minerality here that is very convincing. This is a fairly larger-scaled iteration of Saumur blanc as well, which goes well with the high amount of acid.

2013 vintage

Dinner at TDS (Chicago, IL) : Full, lifted nose of rich orchard fruits, tropical fruits and some mineral --- but none of those typical Chenin wooly notes. Fairly rich and generous while also sporting racy acids. Really excellent tension despite the size. Taut, steely finish. Very well done.

2013 vintage

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Domaine Guiberteau, Saumur, Clos des Carmes

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