Domaine du Closel, 2018 Update
One of the leading domaines in Savennières, I like to keep up with progress at Domaine du Closel. My report on fifteen recent vintages published last year demonstrated with great clarity the improvements that have been made here since Evelyne de Jessey-Pontbriand took control of the domaine back in 2001. Quality has climbed, with notable step-changes coming in 2006 and then again in 2009. To some extent these improvements reflected ongoing changes in the cellars, with longer élevage in barrel on the lees, but I think it is Evelyne’s new approach to the work in the vineyards that had the most dramatic effect. Choosing to pick earlier, moving away from the soft, botrytis-tinged character that is otherwise so typical of the wines of Anjou (and indeed much of Savennières), instead seeking out greater precision, a finer sense of purity and more minerality, has completely reshaped the wines of this domaine.
On this occasion, in a very quick tasting with Evelyne (pictured above), I reviewed four recent releases from the domaine.
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