2020 Philippe Delmée Pablo est au Bar (1500ml)

VARIETAL: Chenin Blanc
REGION: Loire Valley, FR
VITICULTURE: Organic
WINEMAKER: Philippe Delmée

100% Chenin Blanc. Direct press. Aged in tank and old barrels. Very clean nose. Beautiful schisty Chenin smell - I love it! Gentle reduction, but no funk. Beautiful notes of lime and elderflower. Yum. Clean, icy, and very fresh. Perfectly ripe fruit. Lots of lime and lemon, with detailed minerality. Heaps of flavour, really good acidity, and super long. Sweet fruit, and a spread of honey droplets. The lime acidity is awesome. Lots of apples too - more green and yellow than red. Clean and linear, with a light texture. So good, especially for the price.

Philippe Delmée started making wines in 2008. At the time he was also a maths teacher, living in Brest. He would commute between Brest and Anjou, living out of a Caravan (pictured on the Rozetto cuvée) whilst in Anjou. In 2011 he stopped teaching, allowing him to focus solely on making wine. Aurélien Martin partnered with Philippe for a brief period of time, but in 2017 he moved on to work on some of his own projects.

Philippe has many small plots in several locations around Anjou, all farmed organically. The soils are predominantly schist, and the vines are aged between 12 and 45 years old. He grows Cabernet Franc, Grolleau, and Chenin Blanc, and makes many different cuvées. There are no additives used, except for small amounts of sulfites at ~20mg/L. There is no fining or filtration either. Most of the wines are extremely fun and easy to drink. In good years, he makes Chenin which stands alongside some of the best in the region.