2023 Thibaud Boudignon, Anjou Blanc, Loire Valley, France.
Since I first reviewed this Anjou Blanc, in the 2014 vintage, the wine has almost doubled in price and it is extremely hard to find, but this 2023 is beautiful and excitingly electric in the glass with a crisp mineral driven dry Chenin profile. This aromatic and vigorous medium bodied pure Chenin Blanc has a ice mouth-watering salinity and more expressive fruit than I remember from past vintages, with green apple, melon, pear, tart mango and quince fruits, along with subtle spice, flinty stones, dry honey and wild herbs. The ex-Bordeaux native, Thibaud Boudignon, who’s already a wine geek and Chenin hero, ferments this one, with all de-stemmed grapes from all biodynamic vines on mainly schist and clay soils, in a combination of steel and wood. Prior wines were extremely austere, while this one, maybe because of baby fat, shows a more generous nature, while still being poised and elegant, very impressive stuff and I think it will be a huge hit with Thibaud’s large following and Loire enthusiasts.

These Thibaud Boudignon wines are thrilling, but with a cult like following, and as mentioned in my prior reviews, they are almost impossible to find on wine shop shelves, so it is always exciting to get a chance to try new releases of his Anjou Blanc, which is, as seen before, a wonderfully dry expression of Chenin Blanc from the Loire’s Anjou region. The charismatic and talented Thibaud Boudignon, founded his own label in 2009, as noted previously, is all biodynamic and uses only native (indigenous) yeasts for his whites and no malo, but with this one he does use between 20% and 30% new oak with 228L, 350L and 700L size barrels. The Anjou Blanc is crafted from 100% Chenin Blanc from 35 plus year old vines set on shallow soils comprised of grey schist and rhyolite (volcanic) that give these wines they unique character and profile, which is very different from areas like Vouvray, Saumur, Chinon and or Montlouis. Boudignon also does some more austere and wonderfully balanced, very rare, Savennières too, which I was lucky enough to taste as well, the notes on those will follow in due course.
($58 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

By admin