Nose
From the first nose, minerality dominates with its notes of flint, match tip, hit pebble. After aeration, the wine expresses its complexity with fresh citrus notes such as lemon or bergamot. The fresh bush characters like sage or rosemary mingle with notes of fresh flowers such as acacia, lilac or vine flower. The frank and direct attack shows all the nervousness of this wine.
Palate
The mid- palate is large and crisp. Volume and sweetness balance perfectly with fresh and straight acidity. The aromatic return expresses the complexity of this wine with a fruity white flesh (peach, pear). Its long and rich finish stretches with lovely bitters.
Growing Conditions
After a very uniform bud break at the end of March, the spring turned out to be extremely rainy. Fortunately, the hot and dry summer months ensured a perfect evolution of the grapes. The harvest took place in beautiful conditions and the health of the berries was perfect. A light leave-pulling on the morning sun side allows to homogenize the maturity and to attenuate the sometimes-varietal aspect of Sauvignon to leave room to floral, fruity and mineral juices.
The richness of the juices impresses us from the beginning because the power and the freshness balance perfectly. At the pace of replanting and grafting over, the vineyard continues to grow, and the 2016 vintage comes from 6 parcels (or 3.9 ha) among the 13 (6.6 ha) that make up the estate.
Winemaking
At the end of the pressing, the gently racked musts are fermented in new oak, in demi-muids and wooden vats (14 and 26 hL). After fermentation, lees stirring, first daily, is reduced until reaching one lees stirring per week at Christmas. The wines, blended in February, continue their ageing for 18 months. They are then racked in tanks, for a final blending, stabilization, fining and clarification stage to be bottled on May 18, 2018.
Appearance
The color of this Petit Cheval Blanc 2016, crystalline with yellow-green highlights, characterizes the young age of this wine.
