Ferme de la Sansonnière Les Fouchardes 2017

Country: France

Region: Loire

Type: White Wine

Grape: Chenin Blanc 

The Fouchardes vineyard is a small, 1/2 hectare vineyard, mid-slope on La Montagne, one of the three hills of Bonnezeaux. It is a very rare, complex mix of deep red sands and clay over schistes gréseux, with two very distinct areas: the top has more carboniferous schist leading to an earlier picking, while the bottom with heavier clay is harvested ten days later. It is an important plot for Mark as this is where he started to experiment with head-pruning, now a technique applied everywhere. The 40 year-old vines - and a couple of young ungrafted ones too now - produce the broadest, densest dry chenin of the estate.

2017 was an early picked vintage, due to the summer heat: the wine is showing marzipan, wax and cardamom/baking spice notes, with a slight sensation of sugar.