Chicos

Loire Valley, France 

In 2021 Julien lost 90% of the fruit on his own vineyard to a mixture of frost, mildew and hail (in August). In order for his business to survive he had to buy fruit, travelling to a friend in the Cotes de Gascogne with his harvest team and picking Colombard which was pressed direct there and brought back to his cellar in the Loire. Half aged in barrel and half in tank it is a lean bright expression of an under-rated varietal, reminding us of a chardonnay, but without any heavy oakiness.