L'HEXAGONE CAVE À VIN IS AN EXCLUSIVE WINE IMPORT AND RETAIL OPERATION THAT WORKS WITH ONLY THE HIGHEST QUALITY WINE PRODUCERS FROM FRANCE.

Grape(s): 100% Chenin Blanc

Since 1989, Jacky Blot has increased greatly the fame of the appellation Montlouis-sur-Loire that suffers in the shadow of Vouvray in terms of notoriety, but which surprises in the quality of its wines. Affable yet intense, Jacky forges ahead crafting his gourmet whites with passion and precision. He continues to show the way in refining his style, whether it be bubbles, dry whites, or sweet wines, being able to compare, thanks to his crus, Montlouis as well as Vouvray. Jacky was the first winemaker in Montlouis to age his wine for a long time in barrels, but in the last 10 years, his dry whites are noticeably less woody. A definite domaine to discover if you have not already done so

According to Schildknecht: "From a sand-chalk site whose fruit he has never before segregated, Blot’s 2009 Montlouis Clos Michet (tasted from barrel, out of which it had not yet been racked) features scents of lime, pineapple, quince, iris, lanolin, and menthol. Juicy citrus tinged marked by white pepper, fruit pit, chalk dust, and lees makes for a dense, bright, piquant expose of Chenin-on-chalk. While harboring only 5 grams of residual sugar, this is less austere than the corresponding Remus and it seems as though that bit of residual sugar here helps support the fruit. This complex cuvee should serve for fascination over the next 6-8 years at minimum.

Jacky Blot’s distinctive barrique-vinified, leesy-rich, and occasionally to my palate slightly obtrusively wooded Chenins are not without controversy. If you especially prize clarity, refreshment, and shimmering intimations of things mineral, these will not be your first choice among Loire Chenin Blancs, but his two latest collections certainly confirm the intriguing complexity and textural allure that Blot’s Chenins can offer. (For a report on Blot’s reds, see under “Domaine de la Butte” in my parallel report on “King Cabernet.”) Blot reports having picked ahead of most growers in 2009 and later than most in 2008. Several of the totally dry, high acid 2008s (which Blot compares with 2002) struck me as having an especially awkward relationship with their wood, and it’s possible that their gross chemistry in itself encouraged both greater extraction of flavors from the barrel and a tendency for those flavors to stand out against a relatively spare background. “I have an obsession with dry wine,” admits Blot, and that extends to not labeling as sec wines whose residual sugar is unnoticeable, as well as to occasionally postponing racking in an effort to let the yeasts eat up every possible gram." RP: 90-91pts.

Maturity: Now-2028