We couldn’t leave the Loire without drinking a Savennières.  One of my favorite white regions, Savennières is a 370 acre sliver of vinous gold:

The AOC limits Chenin Blanc yields so tightly that a good year maxes around 30,000 cases.  A bad year may see no wine.   But 2005 smiled on Moulin de Chauvigné:

APPEARANCE: Our glasses filled with pale gold that ran right to the rim.

AROMAS: Aromas meant business: smelling pure, powerful, and adult with mead, wax, liquor, and lime.

PALATE: The palate felt dry, nervy, and tart yet surprisingly rich and full-some with medium plus alcohol 14.8, and a waxy, particulate texture.

FLAVORS: Honey, mead, licorice, salty clam, and pear dominated our palates.

CONCLUSIONS: Calling it complex does it disservice. Moulin de Chauvigné made an outstanding (5 of 5) Savennières from 2005 (13.50 EU). It tasted brilliant in 2012 and probably will for another decade.

With that, we leave the Loire for Bordeaux. My birthday nears. But little do I realize that my wife’s sniffles will soon spell disaster. Check back for next Monday’s EU Austerity Drinking Tour in Bordeaux!