100% Chenin Blanc. 2018. Loire, France.
The 2018 Silex Noir bottling from the Pinon family is a beautiful example of the vintage, with a bit more residual sweetness in 2018 than is often the case for this wine, which is allowed to finish its fermentation wherever it feels balanced, so that it can range from a fairly dry DemiSec style in some vintages to a lighter Moelleux, which is where it landed in 2018. The bouquet is bright, complex and very refined, offering up scents of fresh pineapple, quince, a lovely blend of chalky and flinty soil tones, a hint of honeycomb, citrus peel and white lilies. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, focused and zesty, with a lovely core of fruit, excellent soil undertow, ripe acids and a long, balanced and beautifully complex finish.