Domaine Lavigne Saumur Blanc A Old Favorite Rediscovered
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Panarama of the peaceful Loire and its vineyards – The “Garden of France”
It’s a beautiful Friday night. Nobody really wants to cook. But we want something. And definitely a glass or two of wine.
Footsteps down to the cellar. And then, there’s a bottle in front of me, hidden in its silver cooling sleeve. Sancerre! My heart races. I love Sancerre. But no, I peek a little into the sleeve and there’s embossing on the bottle. It’s not the Sancerre. What is it? I run to the refrigerator for two vegetable sushi rolls wrapped in that thin verimicelli-like casing. I start the oven heating up to 450 to re-heat some pizza slices which have been lurking since the most recent order (when you have a teenager — that is always yesterday).
And, now the wine is ready. Chilled. Really chilled.
What is it? It’s a little Chenin Blanc from Saumur from one of my favorite producers: Domaine Lavigne. And, it’s terrific! A homerun! And a great surprise – it is a wine that I had not had in quite a while.
They do everything so well. You already love the Saumur Champigny (red) and the Chesnaie (their special cuvee Saumur Champigny aged in oak). I had almost forgotten about their white wine which won me over when I tasted it at the Domaine.
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Domaine Lavigne is in the commune of Varrains which is between Angers and Tours in the Loire Valley. The Domaine is a family effort. Gilbert Lavigne and his daughter, Pascale, and son-in-law, Antoine Veron run the property. They only have about 5 acres planted in Saumur Blanc. They have a palm tree right inside the walls of their domaine which tells you something about the climate. The last time I visited, they were in the midst of building a new chai (an above ground wine storage and aging room) which also tells you something about how seriously they take their winemaking. This white wine is 100% Chenin Blanc. Chenin Blanc is the grape of well known, near by Vouvray where they make very similar style wines but they cost 30% more – not an unfair price but these Saumur Chenins white wines are truly everyday – keep one in the fridge values.
Chenin is is a difficult grape to grow successfully. It requires vendangée par tris. which is exactly how the grapes for this wine are harvested — continuous passes through the vineyards to get only the best and ripest grapes.
I am telling you this wine is charmant. The wine seems to shimmer with a faint light. Crisp! It’s the acidity level more than anything else, I think which makes it special and so perfect for warm weather. Nothing flabby squatting on my tongue. It’s lithe and springy, bouncing around in my mouth with dashes of pears and grapefruits and lemons (Pascale would say peches blanches). I love it! The really good news is that the 2005 has just arrived. 2005 in the Loire is a wonderful vintage with perfect ripness and maturity. The Wine Spectator did a story on the 2005 vintgage where they said that 2005 is one of the best vintages in many years. Exceptionally good ripeness.
I’ve got a good supply but with this low price and summer here it will not last long. Pascale would shrug if I told her it was great with pizza. She would suggest a fish filet in clarified butter or scallops or trout. I say you can even risk it all on its own — no food at all. Oh, la la. We won’t tell Pascale. Cynthia Hurley