Berrye, Saumur Blanc, Les Bourgères (2023)
Type of Wine: White
Grape(s): 100% Chenin Blanc
Style: Elegant, Light-Bodied, Dry, Mineral
Tasting Notes: Crisp, minerally character with aromas and flavors of pear, lemon zest, sea salt, and jasmine, balanced by a round texture and vibrant acidity.
Aging: Concrete and neutral oak
Vineyard: Berrye’s Saumur Blanc, “Les Bourgères” is a Chenin Blanc harvested from vines planted in 1993 on gentle to medium-sloped, south-facing plots at 80–100 meters altitude (30–50 meters higher than the average of Saumur and Saumur-Champigny) on white tuffeau limestone bedrock with a relatively thin topsoil of calcareous silt, sand and clay.
Vinification: Natural fermentation in concrete & old 225–400-liter wood casks with further aging in the same vessels for a minimum of one year, depending on each season. Malolactic happens but is not intended nor intentionally discouraged. The first sulfites are added at bottling where it is also lightly filtered.
Forteresse de Berrye’s expressive and terroir-focused wines are crafted in a simple and direct way by its new owner, Gilles Colinet, an agronomist and agricultural engineer—among the many métiers of his diverse professional life. Starting with the elimination of all chemical applications in 2019, he began organic culture in 2021 (cert. 2024). His winery is a former military base, the fortress and vineyards strategically located on one of the higher hills in Saumur (~100m). The vineyards grow on predominantly yellowish tuffeau limestone with relatively thin topsoil (a mixture of silt, sand and clay, depending on the parcel), and the average age of the vines is 30 years. The 26ha property is planted to 10.5ha of vines while the rest is wild forest and 6ha of newly planted trees to further encourage biodiversity. Winemaking practices and bottlings continue to evolve, and
most will be fermented and aged in concrete and/or predominantly old oak barrels.
