Clément & Florian Berthier Coteaux Giennois "Terre de Silex"

Description

Terre de Silex or Clément & Florian Berthier Coteaux Giennois Terre de Silex to give it its full name is a beautiful, elegant Loire white wine from the Coteaux Giennois appellation. I have both the 2021 and the 2022 vintages in stock. A previous vintage of this wine took me aback when I first tasted it blind. I loved it but to be honest I wasn’t really sure what it was – I was surprised to find out it was 100% Sauvignon Blanc because I am not a big fan Sauvignon and yet I loved this wine. It’s not a big tropical fruit style of Sauvignon nor the gooseberry Marlborough style – Terre de Silex is both light and complex, its complexity coming from the flinty soils in its vineyards (the ‘silex’) and from the lees ageing. It tastes of subtle stone fruits, green apples and subtle lime and has a lovely silky texture. The cool but sunny 2021 and the hot 2022 vintage ensured ripeness of grapes which lends a few subtle tropical fruit notes and a light creaminess to the wine but it is essentially light and refreshingly crisp, like the Bruno Blondelet Pouilly Fumé another Loire fine white wine appellation. In 2022 harvest was early to prevent acidity in the wine from falling. This means a few subtle tropical fruit notes but a sharpness from the crisp lime notes on the long finish. Ageing the wine on its lees before bottling ensured a subtle creaminess and a beautifully smooth texture.

Coteaux Giennois is one of a growing number of terroir-focused wines from the Loire and a fairly new wine appellation, producing wines that are similar to Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé. This wine region is increasingly recognising the diversity of its vineyards and reflecting the different terroirs in its wines. Terre de Silex is the name given to the specific flinty soils that give this light Sauvignon Blanc subtle aromas of gunflint. The Berthier brothers have taken over the family winery and they have both gained experience from their father before them and from working in vineyards overseas. They aim to “ respect and enhance our terroir”, having practised sustainable growing for many years, using environmentally-friendly practices in the vineyards and intervening as little as possible in the winemaking to allow each wine to express its full potential. The wine is terroir-focused and in the winery each plot’s grapes are vinified separately to highlight the terroir specific to each plot. This wine comes from their Les Genets Gris plot whose 100% flint (“silex”) soils contribute to the complexity of the wine and its distinct gunflint aroma.