Rochers Des Violettes Offer 2024 - Crystal-pure Chenin Blanc For The Ages

From a single vineyard of 50+ year old vines on sand and silex (with pure limesonte just below).
Borderies is often the first vineyard to be harvested from slightly raisened fruit. Notes of jasmine, apple pie and crushed rocks on the nose lead into a subtle sweetness without heaviness. On the palate orchard fruits join in, signing off chalky minerality and a stream of quince-like phenolics which bring balance and punctuate the flow of sweetness. This is a delectable off-dry wine which could be served with cheese or richer seafood dishes. GABRIELLE POY



A little flint and white flowers with just picked anjou pear and a touch of pineapple and a little hint of bees wax. Fine and elegant with pure white fruits and a chalky mineral streak. Crystal clear and clean. Very pure. MYLES THOMSON, PWS

From a 0.8 ha plot ‘Le Grand Poirier’ planted in 1950.  This has about 50% botrytis and aged in older barrels. RS 85 g/l
Smells so very strongly of fresh sage and honey and pineapple and medjool dates soaked in warm water. Lovely earthiness. Linden leaf. Saffron. An unusual nuttiness. Pineapple syrup and pressed sage on the palate. The sweetness fills the mouth but this is a wine that needs your silence, your listening, your waiting. If you give it time, sit back, find a nook in the garden or tucked into your old armchair, it's a wine that gives so much more than sweetness. It hands you memories of rain on earth, of bruised clover underneath the ripening grapes, of bees, blue skies, black skies, pink-blazed-morning skies, mist-draped dawns. You can taste yeast, old wood, black coffee, a slowly melting fingertip of dark chocolate on your tongue, ginger-biscuit crumbs. It's something, this wine. TAMLYN CURRIN, Jancis Robinson

XAVIER WEISSKOPF

The 2021 Montlouis-sur-Loire Le Grand Clos has generosity and a come-hither side to its personality. However, the natural acidity of this later-ripening, clay-based parcel, 91-year-old vines and the 2021 vintage means that there's a vivid line of acidity that trips through the wine, providing direction and energy. Fully dry, it leaves the drinker with a sense of uprightness. It has some richness from barrel-aging (500-liter barrels, 30% new), which lends a sweet, creamy aspect. REBECCA GIBB MW, Vinous


Xavier Weisskopf, the wunderkind of the Loire, has quickly emerged as one of the region’s most exciting talents. After a meteoric rise to Chef de Cave at Château de Saint Cosme in Gigondas, Xavier struck out on his own with Rocher de Viollettes, reviving a historic property in Montlouis. Since arriving, he has focused on restoring and converting the old vineyards to organic practices, preserving pre-WWII plantings while expanding the estate to over 17 hectares. Today, Xavier crafts wines that showcase both the Loire’s underappreciated terroirs and the remarkable potential of its old vines.

I’d like to introduce you to one of the future stars of French viticulture: Xavier Weisskopf. JACQUELINE FREIDRICH, Guide to the Loire.