Coralie et Damien Delecheneau Trinqu'âmes 2018 (Touraine, Loire Valley)

Tasted: January 6, 2023 (4.5 years old)

Appellation: Touraine, Loire Valley, France

Let me preface. I tend to steer away from your typical, modern interpretation of textbook Sauvignon Blanc wines that are crisp, light, steely, and reminiscent of a grapefruit-gooseberry explosion. When it comes to the Loire Valley Sauvignons, it is often a gamble when the producer’s winemaking style is not one that I’m familiar with.

Touraine is a vast appellation that spans across multiple sub-regions, it is natural that we see a big variation between producers, and most examples I have experienced have been underwhelming. The great news is this Trinqu’âmes over delivered not just in its flavour and textural profile, but in its ability to gain complexity over time.

It was a slight gamble to drink this wine after dodgy-cellaring it in my living room for three years. My fiancé and I were clinging on to it because the wine was a souvenir from his Parisian (sorry, I meant Auvergnat!) brother’s partner, Dora, during our 2019 visit. Dora is a buyer at a wine shop in Paris, and I would drink anything she’d ask me to.

The 4.5 year-old, medium-yellow Trinqu’âmes Touraine Sauvignon saw significant development with notes of honey and wet rock that is almost Chenin-like. The fruits are very much present, with aromas of ripe pear skin, Meyer lemon, and dehydrated grapefruit wheel bolstered by honeysuckle, and a hint of dried apricot, marzipan, and enoki mushrooms. Dry and steely, textural, with palate-bracing acidity that paired wonderfully with foie gras.

This is their négoce label where the fruits were purchased from their neighbours, and Trinqu'âmes is French play on words meaning "Let's toast to our souls."

In general, I find the level of enjoyment of quality Sauvignon Blanc wines, specifically those that see lees ageing, tend to increase by folds after at least five to seven years of cellaring. If I had cellered it properly, there is no doubt that this wine could age for at least seven years.

Farming: Biodynamic, organic, 40 year old vines, hand harvested

Winery: Spontaneous fermentation, aged 6 months on lees in concrete & fiberglass tank.

93/100