2007 Damien Laureau Savennières Les Genêts

Community Tasting Notes (12) Avg Score: 89.9 points

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  11/3/2020 - JVG wrote:

  Medium gold color. Captivating on the nose, with a knockout bouquet that is simultaneously extremely expressive and very difficult to describe. It's rich and luxurious, with a sweet, honeyed weight to it, but there is also a luscious fruity side, like dripping-ripe peaches and apricots. Then there is a heady, perfumed blast of pungent spring flowers, and a dusty, slightly oxidative note of wine cellar and sherry. And then, to top it all off—it's the strangest thing—there's a characteristic that I can only describe as the stemmy/leafy/tree-bark top note that I sometimes find in lighter red Burgundy. Really interesting and disorienting. As the wine breathes in the glass, the fruit and the honey recede quite a bit, and that leafy/earthy character and the dusty cellar notes, come to dominate, and at that point, if I were to nose it blind, I'm not sure I wouldn't mis-identify it as a red. Mind-bending stuff.
  
  Equally captivating on the palate, but for different reasons. The fruit and richness come back with a vengeance, and the ripeness, full-bodied and luscious texture, and well-balanced acidity make it taste like juicy peach drizzled with wildflower honey. Except the green notes are still there lingering in the background and adding complexity, as if our honey-sweet peach were garnished with microgreens. The finish starts sweetly honeyed but then dries out, and it's the dusty, earthy, very slightly oxidative aspect that gets the last word as the taste lingers and lingers. It becomes a bit more phenolic as it continues to breathe, too, with a smoky, flinty impression developing on both the nose and palate.
  
  I wasn't sure what to expect from this 13-year-old Savennières, having never tried a wine from this producer before. I've been sitting on this bottle for eight years, and now I'm glad I waited because this is really now a mature, well-developed, rewarding wine. I would say now is the time to drink up.

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  5/31/2014 - aro wrote: 88 Points

  Certainly not fresh and floral at this point. I wouldn't say oxidative, as I kept drinking it over three days with pleasure. Very creamy and broad, with a faint acid kick to the finish. Pleasurable.

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  12/25/2013 - jphil123 Likes this wine: 89 Points

  Not my first encounter with this wine, but was surprised by it. I think it is in a transitional phase turning into a mature Chenin. Seems promising, but I would give it 2-3 years more time. Right now, it is good but not great. Has an slightly unpleasant bitter note to it that I didn't notice before.

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  4/13/2013 - smphelps wrote: 89 Points

  Just short of two years after last trying this wine, and further patience will likely be rewarded. A pretty gold color a bit like light honey. 14% alcohol, and noticeable a bit on the nose. Otherwise, apricots and a green floral scent greet you. Still showing nice acidity, but slightly harsher than I recall with the oak treatment. Finishes dry and crisp with a cloying sense of dust.

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  3/28/2013 - ecola Likes this wine: 91 Points

  Subtle white fruit with an almond like component. Wonderfully balanced acidity. Will drink well for a long time.

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