{"product_id":"brendan-stater-west-les-chapaudaises-2021-saumur-blanc","title":"Brendan Stater-West  'Les Chapaudaises'  2021  Saumur Blanc","description":"\u003cp\u003e750ml bottle\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e12% abv\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eMedium gold in color. Yellow apple, pear, white peach, lemon, and crushed-stone salinity on both the nose and palate, with a hint of honey and beeswax. Dry, with brisk, electric acidity and a light-plus body. \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003e100% Chenin Blanc. \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eOrganically farmed. Vines on the one-hectare Les Chapaudaises parcel in Bizay, approximately half a kilometer from the celebrated Brézé terroir.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eAll tuffeau (tufa limestone), a sandy calcium-rich limestone interlaced with Cretaceous-era seashell fossils. The same porous stone used to build the châteaux and cave cellars of Saumur. Located adjacent to Romain Guiberteau's Clos du Guichaux. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eHand-harvested. Whole-bunch pressed. Spontaneous fermentation in stainless steel. Aged six months on lees before bottling. Neutral oak used judiciously across the range but not confirmed specifically for Les Chapaudaises.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eThe 2021 vintage in Saumur was characterized by devastating spring frosts (yields dramatically reduced across the appellation) and a cool, slow-ripening summer that produced wines of unusually high natural acidity and precision.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eBrendan Stater-West is an American from Oregon who arrived in France in 2007 to teach English, became obsessed with Loire Chenin Blanc, and within two years had redirected his life entirely toward wine. The turning point was tasting Romain Guiberteau's 2013 Brézé; the day after, he went to Guiberteau's cellar and asked for an apprenticeship. He got it in 2011, spending four years as Guiberteau's right-hand person while completing a BTS in viticulture and enology, including a stint learning horse-drawn viticulture at the Clos Cristal. In 2015, Guiberteau offered him one hectare of Les Chapaudaises to farm and vinify himself. The first vintage sold out immediately.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eProgress stalled badly in 2016 and 2017, when severe spring frosts left almost nothing to work with and Stater-West came close to abandoning the project entirely. The recovery came by chance: in 2018 Guiberteau was offered the vineyards of an old local family without an heir, judged he had enough on his plate, and passed the opportunity to Stater-West instead. The purchase gave him a proper domaine with a historic cellar in Chacé. He is now among the most closely watched young producers in the Loire, with Les Chapaudaises as his flagship, imported in the US by Becky Wasserman. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Veritas Imports","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51133303554354,"sku":null,"price":58.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0754\/3206\/7378\/files\/2_c07df439-ee5c-4ebf-8937-dfd1c4fb1195.webp?v=1778102988","url":"https:\/\/slakesf.com\/products\/brendan-stater-west-les-chapaudaises-2021-saumur-blanc","provider":"SLAKE San Francisco Bottle \u0026 Sundry","version":"1.0","type":"link"}