Damien Laureau, 2017 Update
Continuing this slightly sporadic series of updates relating to some of the leading wines of the Savennières appellation, I come now to Damien Laureau. Having looked at recent releases from Eric Morgat and also from Domaine aux Moines, two domaines now producing some of the most exceptional wines in the appellation, as well as a sixteen vintages of Clos du Papillon from Evelyne de Jessey-Pontbriand of Domaine du Closel, a look in on Damien and his wines is probably overdue.
Damien poured four wines, including two from the 2014 vintage, a year in which conditions seem to have favoured the production of fruit-rich wines blessed with a vibrant acid backbone; judging by this encounter, Damien and his wines seem to have read the script. Before coming to the 2014 vintage, however, I began with the 2016 La Petite Roche, the fruit sourced from a small vineyard between Savennières and La Possonnière and vinified in fibreglass. This is a delicious if still very primary wine dominated by floral and fruit character, and I was surprised to hear Damien declare that in future vintages he plans to switch to stainless steel for this cuvée, as he finds the results using fibreglass a little too oxidative. There is certainly no suggestion of any problem with the wine, but Damien feels that this change may facilitate reducing his use of sulphur dioxide.
Damien’s best-known cuvées are surely Les Genêts and Le Bel Ouvrage, and I tasted the 2014 vintage in each case. The former comes from more sandy soils, and is a super wine in 2014, with wonderful fruit, texture and balance. The 2014 Le Bel Ouvrage does the unthinkable though, and takes it up another notch, adding a minerally vein to the succulent fruit, putting this wine among some of the very best of the vintage. Finally I came to the 2015 Roche-aux-Moines cuvée; this was a warmer year of course, not always beneficial when it comes to the Loire Valley’s dry whites, nevertheless Damien seems to be fashioned a real tour de force here, a wine of fruit, flowers and minerals that should be held up as an example of what can be achieved in this appellation. This is a remarkable wine which I don’t mind admitting I have had to add to my own cellar since tasting it (along with some of the 2014 Le Bel Ouvrage).
