Our Tasting Impressions
So different from the Saint Jacques because of the new vs used oak. There is so much yin & yang afoot here - the bright acidity against the texture faintly imprinted by the oak. There also is a cornucopia of flavors and textures that I dare you to describe. It is a really special wine. A joy to drink now but I expect a long and fascinating life lies ahead.
About this wine
An elevage riff on Gigou's Jasnières Saint Jacques. Made every 3 years as the barrels are vacated by the prior vintage.
Chenin Blanc from Gigou's most prized vineyard - Saint Jacques - planted more than 70 years ago. It is organically farmed and harvested by hand with very low yields. The soil is silex (flint & sand) limestone clay and tuffeau - porous, chalky limestone composed of bryozoan fossils (tiny aquatic invertebrates).
For Délice, the juice spends two and a half years fermenting and aging in 2 new barriques (225 liter oak barrels), sourced from the Bercé Forest about 20km from Domaine Gigou. These barrels are coveted because the trees from this national park are remarkably consistent in their extremely tight grain, which results in a superior barrel.
About the grape
Chenin Blanc is one of the world's great wine grapes. Possibly dating back a millenium, Chenin is notable for its intense acidity. In fact, before the pronounced effects of climate change, cold years in the Loire produced underripe grapes and disastrous vintages. Often vintners had to add sulphur to counteract the savage acidity. Today, that does not happen much and Chenin can fully display its vivacious and glorious floral, hay and honey notes. Chenin is among the most flexible varieties for wine production. It can be vinified dry, off-dry or sweet. It also is capable of producing wines that can live and improve - seemingly - forever.
On Your Table
Ludovic recommends having this with cheese. Stay tuned as I test it out or do you own experimenting and let me know. Serve at cellar temperature.
Suggested Glassware: Grassl Mineralité
The Gigou family operates their quaint farm in the central northern reaches of the Loire Valley - not far from Le Mans, home to the famed 24-hour auto road race. Joël, who is credited with saving the appellation of Jasnières, started the estate in 1974 along with his gracious wife Sylvie. His son Ludovic now handles much of the management and his daughter Dorothée runs the office.
Their 8 hectares of vineyards in Jasnières are planted to Chenin Blanc producing dry whites - and sweet in vintages when botrytis (noble rot) occurs. The entire appellation is only 108 hectares and the soil of mostly flint and tuffeau limestone is unique - giving Chenin from Jasnières distinct flavors. They farm without chemicals harvestIng 60% by hand and 40% by machine (stems left on for the Chenin).
Gamay and Pineau d'Aunis (and Chenin for one white) is planted in Côteaux du Loir (5ha) for their reds and rosé. They also produce sparkling wines in all three colors that are not appellation specific. The range of wines is extensive despite producing only about 40-50,000 bottles per year. There are lots of old vines.
Now the remarkable part, Ludovic told me they keep all their bottled wines in their cellar for at least one or two years. He replied, The wine decides when it's ready. In some cases, he would hold them back even longer, except they are often out of storage space. Truly a portrait of a family whose prime concern is that the wines that bear their name are special.
