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Stater-West Les Chapaudasies Blanc Saumur, Loire Valley, France 2020
Brendan Stater-West has been quietly but quickly generating a profile as one of the Loire Valley's hottest new producers. A young American guy from Oregon with no winemaking history ends up in Saumur as the assistant vigneron to Romain Guiberteau--that's a story in itself. But Brendan's natural talent is clearly apparent once you take a sip of his wines. He launched his domaine in 2015, and has been improving his wines with each vintage!
- Variety: Chenin Blanc
- Terroir: Fruit for ‘Les Chapaudaises’ comes from a small, one-hectare plot in the heart of Saumur, planted in 2006. Brendan Stater-West moved to France ten years ago to teach English and fell in love with wine while working at a retail shop in Paris. He founded his namesake domaine in 2015 after scoring an apprenticeship and studying under Romain Guiberteau.
- Farming: Lutte raisonnée, organic methods
- Vinification: Harvest is sorted in the vineyard. Light decanting of lees, and indigenous yeast fermentation in older oak barrels for up to 1 month. Aged for 12 months in older barrel, 6 months blending in stainless steel tank.
- Tasting Notes: Zesty and bright with a strong mineral core and notes of green apple skin, dried honey, and body that continues to build to a lifted mineral finish.
Some guy took the best Chenin Blanc vines in the world and fermented their fruit spontaneously in stainless steel. He then aged the wine in used barrels from Dageneau. Obviously, it’s a little more complicated than that, but there’s something to be said for a damn good recipe. Brendan farms and makes wines alongside Romain Guiberteau at Domaine Guiberteau, a producer that rightfully bears the reputation of the industry standard for French Chenin Blanc. I’ll say it: I like these wines more. There’s a little bit more tension, and quite a bit more, err, panache. This isn’t to detract from the provenance of those wines, rather, with Clos Rougeard considered as well, Brendan has kind of completed a triforce of baller producers working the hill of Brézé. Give it a shot. — Parker Story for DECANTsf, 3/24