Cheverny "Les Veilleurs" (White) 2019

This wine is 60% Sauvignon Blanc and 40% Orbois and shows the amazing potential of barrel-fermented whites from the Loire. Notes of caramel popcorn and roast pink lady apple. This wine is fresh, with full flavour and elegance and a rich golden colour. This is a complex white perfect for pairing with heavier fish and poultry dishes

Domaine de Veilloux is a small estate in a quiet part to the Loire Valley near Cheverny. It has been a family owned the estate since the French Revolution, and was taken over by Michel and Sylviane Quenioux in 1994. Michel, a firm believer in the health and environmental benefits of organic and biodynamic farming, implemented these practices from the start and obtained their certification in 1998. The domaine now includes just over 25 hectares, all of which are grown using sustainable, organic methods. The domaine has 3.5 hectares of Orbois (Menu Pineau), which may be the largest single planting in the world of this rare grape. Michel makes three cuvées which blend varying percentages of Orbois with Sauvignon Blanc. This blend is almost half Orbois.

Vinification: Twenty-five year-old Orbois vines from clay-limestone soils and 40 year-old Sauvignon Blanc from silty clay and sand stone over calcareous rock. Grapes are hand harvested at low yields (35 hl/ha). The grapes are pressed and the juice is aged in oak barrels for 11 months on the lees. The wine is racked in a cement tank to remove the dead yeast, and both grape varieties are blended, allowed to settle and then bottled after three months with no fining and light filtration.

Match it with: Meaty fish with richer butter or cream sauces, roast pork, pasta with cheese sauce.