2022 Gaec Luc et Fabrice Martin L'Aiglerie Savennieres 750 ml

The Savennières appellation is widely regarded as the seat of the world’s greatest dry Chenin Blancs, and it is tiny. Consisting of just over 300 hectares of vines, it’s only about a tenth the size of Sancerre, explaining why many of the best wines—like this one, until now—are impossible to find in the US. 

What the famous terroir of Savennières does to this thin-skinned grape can be described, but it’s a phenomenon far better tasted. When planted there, Chenin Blanc acquires a nervy electricity and power that drives the orchard fruit forward on the palate. That’s the anchoring note at the center of this incredible wine, which is a paradox of luxurious, creamy weight and mineral-kissed acidic lift. It’s an instant classic.

L'Aiglerie sits up on the hillside directly above the famed La Grande Roche vineyard and the landmark windmill just west of the town. The exposition that view brings allows for sunshine all day, while a mix of soils—Aeolian sand, grey-green schist, and colluvial deposits—build complexity into the wine.

In the hands of fourth-generation winemakers Luc and Fabrice Martin, that makes for magic in the glass. The pair have taken their prime site and eliminated the use of herbicides in the vineyard, choosing to plow between rows instead—increasing the biodiversity and paving the way for a coming organic certification.

They hand-harvest into small crates, a labor-intensive step that preserves the delicate Chenin berries before a gentle whole-cluster pressing. Only native yeasts are used for fermentation, which takes place in large 400L barrels, before the wine is aged in the same vessels for a full ten months in preparation for bottling—all markers of the obsession with quality that drew us to this outstanding estate.