Antoine Sanzay, Saumur Blanc, Les Essarts, Saumur, Varrains, Anjou-Saumur, Loire, France, 2021

Producer Profile

Antoine Sanzay isn’t exactly a newcomer to viticulture, he is in fact the 6th generation of the Sanzay family to tend their vines.

Having studied at the lycée viticole at Montreuil-Bellay he took over the running of the family domaine in 1999. Antoine’s journey into wine was not a typical smooth succession. He had just turned 10 when, just as his grandfather was verging on retirement, his father tragically passed away. While Antoine’s father was a wine lover, his grandfather was the opposite. Growing grapes was just one element of a polyculture, and by no means the most important to him. What mattered was to work the land for a living, with all the grapes sold to the local co-operative. With no solid guidance, no mentor, Antoine had to start from scratch. “I didn’t have any inherited legacy or familial pressure.” While having to rely on his wits, this provided Antoine with freedom to experiment. “I think it can be easier for the children to start with a new name than following their father’s legacy with all the baggage that can come with it” admitted Antoine. While he may have learned on his own, he grew his inspiration with support from many great Loire personalities, including Guy Bossard, Jo Pithon, Thierry Germain, Jo Landron, Les Freres Foucault and Bernard Baudry. It was not until 2002 Antoine made his first vintage. With slowly having made the switch to organic practices, in 2007 Antoine started experimenting deeper in to organic viticulture and converted his vineyards by 2011, becoming fully certified bio and Ecocert in 2014. 2014 was also his first vintage where he bottled his entire production and stopped selling to the local cooperative, Antoine admitted “I started with almost nothing and I needed the local cooperative to help me financially”. Throughout the range you will find there is stylistic continuity, with great tension, focus, vibrant fruit harnessed to absolute linear precision. The reds show a brilliantly judged balance between intense crunchy berry fruits, brooding matiere, croquant tannic grip, and a lingering refined floral element mixed with lovely bite and length.

Viticulture

From a tiny .25 hectare parcel of clay and limestone near the village of Brézé,

Winemaking

Hand harvested and fermented for 4 months in 600 litre oak barrels with native yeasts, aged on the fine lees for 11 months in demi muids, half of which are new.

Tasting Note

A lively, dry and fruity organic white, Les Essarts has inviting aromas of grapefruit, pear, quince and citrus, along with brioche, toasted almond, honeycomb and a mineral flint character characterised by the terroir. Beautifully full-bodied on the palate, yet fresh with well-supported acidity and a fine saline touch on the finish.

Food Matching

Seafood, salads, goat cheese and sweet and sour dishes.