Thibaud Boudignon Anjou Blanc Grey Label 2021

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

From 40 year-old vines, planted at 8000 vines/ha on shallow soils of grey schist and rhyolite. Fermented in stainless steel with native yeasts for 2-3 weeks, followed by maturation in 300L and 750L barrels (30% new) for 15-18 months. Since Thibaud has moved into his new winery just 2 years ago this wine has moved up a few notches in depth and complexity. The oak integration is now perfect to the point of being invisible serving only to add another layer to the tight citric core of fruit.

About Thibaud Boudignon

Thibaud Boudignon is one of the new young stars of the Loire Valley based in Savennieres. He also owns two small vineyards across the river on the south side of the Loire in the Anjou. Having worked with Philippe Charlopin in Gevrey Chambertin, Chateau Lafite Rothschild in Bordeaux (amongst others) and also in Australia then the Loire, Thibaud has built up a wealth of experience without having been born into a wine producing family.

“Thibaud Boudignon is a recent entry to Savennières, having started his project in 2009, but oh, my, the purity of his wines is impeccable. The three Savennières – La Vigne Cendrée, Clos de Fremine and Clos de la Hutte – have their own personalities. The transparency and harnessed power of these wines offer a contrast to the bigger, bolder Savennières styles. It may only be a young domaine, but the clarity of the wines made from these young vines is truly exciting. I look forward to the vines maturing further.“

Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous Media, March 2021

Alder Yarrows article “The Emotion of Savennières: The Wines of Thibaud Boudignon” on his blog Vinography offers a much more comprehensive insight into Boudignon.

00:56 – Thibaud’s Background & How He Ended Up in the Loire

7:08 – Changing the Farming at Chateau Soucherie

11:28 – Purchasing His First Vines in Savennières

15:40 – How Thibaud Found ‘Clos de la Hutte’ & ‘Clos Fremine’

20:00 – Key Domaines & Terroir in Savennières

23:40 – Working with Young Vines & Massal Selection

29:51 – Global Warming in the Loire

40:25 – ‘Vigne Cendrée’

42:34 – ‘Clos Fremine’

44:32 – ‘Clos de la Hutte’

48:13 – Comparing ‘Vigne Cendrée’, ‘Clos Fremine’, & ‘Clos de la Hutte’ & How Chenin Expresses the Terroir He Works With

53:16 – Rosé de Loire

In the Vineyard

With a total of just 7 hectares of vines he has gradually bought and planted several prime parcels in the small Savennieres appellation including a parcel called La Vigne Cendrée which borders Baumard’s Clos St Yves vineyard (not far from the famous La Roche-aux-Moines vineyard). He has also planted another vineyard, Le Clos de Fremine, just south of Savennieres near the village of La Possonnière with sandy soil and across the road is his main vineyard Clos de la Hutte beside which he has built a remarkable small and modern winery which has its temperature and humidity regulated by a thermal energy system which is buried below the ground around the winery.

All vines are planted from a variety of massale selection coming from some of the best estates of the Loire giving very small berries and yields. Clos de la Hutte was historically regarded among the best sites of the appellation and had been an old religious site. Thibaud is aiming to bring this historically highly regarded site back to prominence so that it might sit alongside Roche aux Moines and Coulee de Serrant as one of the future Grand cru vineyards in Savennieres in years to come. Within the the Clos de la Hutte vineyard he has close-planted un-grafted franc de pied vines on the highest sandiest part of that vineyard from which he will soon release another wine.

Working organically in the vineyards he harvests by hand making successive tries throughout each vineyard ending with yields that are much lower than the AOC rules. During the growing season he employs one person per hectare to manage the vines.

In the Winery

Given the small size of the winery it is clear that he intends to concentrate on small quantities so these wines will always remain very confidential in quantity. The small winery itself is remarkable as he is able to precisely control temperature and humidity by thermal regulation from a vast system buried in the ground surrounding the winery enabling optimum temperature and humidity all throughout the year.

In the winery the grapes are whole bunch pressed with no settling and the juice kept cold before starting a long slow fermentation. He vinifies with natural yeasts and ages the wines on lees with minimal SO2 in a mixture of barrels ranging from 300-600 litres. There are hogsheads, cigares, puncheons and small 600 litre foudres from the highly regarded Austrian cooper, Stockinger. Ultimately though, new oak influence is not a part of the style. This results in wines of striking purity, depth and intensity, with each wine clearly reflecting its particular terroir. These are really profound wines with terrific freshness and structure that have the capacity to age well for many years.

Where in the World is Thibaud Boudignon?

Boudignon is located in the Middle Loire Valley in the Savennières appellation next to Anjou.  Savennières is a Grand Cru of the Loire Valley, located 15km south-west of Angers. It is a small appellation comprising 130 hectares and 36 winemakers.