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Eric Morgat Savennières L'Enclos 2005
I seem to have fallen into an ad hoc and certainly unplanned exploration of Savennières in the past few weeks, what with Baumard's Clos du Papillon as my Weekend Wine two weeks ago, and my newly expanded profile for Nicolas Joly after tasting his 2007s earlier this year. This week's wine does nothing to break the trend as it is another Savennières, this time from Eric Morgat.
Eric
Morgat does not have a long history in the Savennières appellation, although he
does come from a long line of vignerons. His forebears worked in the
Coteaux du Layon appellation, his grandfather having acquired Château de Breuil
in 1959. It would have been only natural for Eric to follow in the
family footsteps at Breuil, but instead he moved north, crossing the river,
settling in the appellation of Savennières. He started off with a small property
near that of Domaine aux Moines, marketing the wines under the label of Domaine
de la Monnaie. Since then he has both expanded, purchasing and renting new plots
of vines in the appellation, including half a hectare in the cru Roches-aux-Moines,
and also relocated, having been forced from his home when the owner sold it. He
has found a new base near the southern end of the appellation on the road out to
La Possonière, at the Clos de Ferrand. Reputedly one of the best sites of
the appellation, this five hectare clos has lain unplanted for several
decades, as the previous owner grubbed up the vines, built a house in the centre
of the plot and used the surrounding land as pasture for cattle. Morgat plans to
replant, in keeping with my thoughts two
weeks ago about the reinvigoration of the appellation. I find the prospect
of tasting the wine very exciting, but I know I will have a long wait before
this plan comes to fruition.
Having tasted two vintages of Eric Morgat's Savennières L'Enclos it seems to me that here we have a young, up-and-coming name for the appellation who is well worth following, and who certainly deserves investigation and a profile on this site. In the meantime, the potted history above will have to do, accompanied by my opinion on the 2005 vintage below. This was a favourable vintage for many Loire appellations; Savennières was no exception, and Morgat harvested good quality fruit in a single burst of picking over four days, with a more-than-modest yield of 25 hl/ha. The fruit was pressed and then fermented naturally in oak, finishing malolactic the following spring before being racked into barrel where it remained for about eight months before bottling.
Before
getting onto the wine, the bottles themselves are perhaps worthy of a quick
mention, as they are particularly attractive. The capsule bears the motto
solvitur in excelsis which I think translates as "the solution is in the highest", but
I'm no Latin scholar. The labels bear an embossed print, a reproduction of a
piece by Belgian artist Marcel Hasquin showing two intertwined figures seated in
a wine glass. It is difficult enough making out the detail even with the bottle
in your hand, so I hope you will forgive the rather poor quality image on the
left. As for the wine itself, this has a moderately rich lemon-gold hue,
and perhaps not the depth of colour I have seen in other Anjou Blanc and
Savennières from this vintage - that's not necessarily a bad thing. The nose is
not so expressive either, showing only a rather restrained, slightly plump but
well defined layer of fruit, in the apple and pear spectrum. It's all rather
subtle, compared to the 2004 tasted not that long ago which was very expressive.
The palate though is just beautiful; not so much in terms of flavour, which is
similarly restrained, but in terms of structure, a rich yet elegant weight, and
a precise balance which is admirable in view of the wine's delicious substance.
It is harmonious, slightly honeyed, broad and rather flattering, and yet it is certainly dry, with fine acidity carrying
the wine across the palate, which remains really very fresh and lifted
throughout as a result. This carries onto the finish, which is more minerally,
but almost juicy in its vivaciousness. The length shows peppery, nettly
substance underneath it all, and it goes on and on. This is very impressive, and
I can't wait to see what it does with a year or two in the cellar. 18.5+/20 (2/3/09)
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