French Saumur - The Oft-Forgotten Chenin Blanc!

I've written here and in my newspaper column about following the advice of trusted wine professionals. I made a wonderful French discovery in Italy over the holidays that led me to re-discover the joys of Chenin Blanc.

The French wine in Florence was a beautiful, and aged, Vouvray but more on that in a future blog post. I went shopping for Vouvray Wednesday at Kahn's Fine Wines in Indianapolis and found one! But the young man helping me suggested I try a Chenin Blanc from the Saumur region.

So I bought a bottle of Domaine des Hauts de Sanziers 2008 Saumur for $14.95. He described it as a big white wine that would hold up to food with all the structure of red. He was absolutely right!

I loved this wine. Saumur is a region in the Loire area of France. The property has been owned by the same family for two centurries

The nose is light but interesting. On the nose and palate I found strong lemon and maybe a hint of pear. There was a wonderful minerality about this wine.

But the most enjoyable characteristic is the balance between flavor and acidity.

This is a Robert Kacher selection. He specializes in small producers from France. Robert Parker called him one of the 20 most influential wine personalities of the past 20 years.

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