Vin de Lune - Le Moelleux Du Clos : 2007
Chenin.
Vin de Pays du Comté Tolosan.
Estate bottled.
0.50cl



A SWEET MEMORY!

For these "Moon Wines", the grapes are harvested in the cool of dawn. Jean-Luc Baldès wanted to reproduce a wine of this name made in the 17th century, when peasant farmers used to pick the grapes during the night so as to purloin part of the local lord's harvest and thus also have to pay him less in taxes.

Tasting advice:
- With the assent of the French national wine office (ONIVINS) and arising from his experience at Château COUTET, the famed Barsac classed growth, Jean-Luc Baldès took the innovative step of producing a sweet white wine in the Cahors area, on soil suitable for its grapes.
- To be served cool, 10-12° C, as an aperitif, with foie gras on toast, with pan-fried liver flavoured with slightly caramelised fruits, or with blue cheeses or desserts (such as pear, apricot and mango).

Location:
At Floressas, in the Clos Triguedina vineyards west of Cahors, which lie in the heart of the Appellation region at an altitude of 300m.

Soil:
Clay-and-limestone soil; the vines have full exposure to the south.

Grape Variety:
100% Chenin. Single Guyot pruning. 5,000 plants per hectare.

In the vineyard:
Traditional growing methods; soil ploughed; supervised control; severe pruning; removal of unwanted new shoots; thinning out of the grape bunches and of the leaves.

Harvest:
Grapes picked by hand in November. Three triages - successive waves of picking, only those grapes shrivelled by the "noble rot" fungus (botrytis cinerea) being harvested each time.

Vinification:
Chenin is vinified at low temperature in oak casks, then aged in barrels for 18 months before the wine is bottled on the estate.

Comments:
- Colour: Gold; brilliant and limpid.
- Nose: Crystalised fruits, crystalised quince, with mineral and other fruity notes.
- In the mouth: Lively and beautifully balanced, smooth and delicately elegant overall.
- Laying down: Can be drunk now but will keep for more than 20 years.