2020 Thibaud Boudignon Savennieres Clos Fremine

Based in Savennieres, Thibaud Boudignon is one of the new young stars of the Loire Valley. In addition to his prime plots in Savennieres, Thibaud also owns two small vineyards across the river on the south side of the Loire in the Anjou. Thibaud has worked with Philippe Charlopin in Gevrey Chambertin, Chateau Lafite Rothschild in Bordeaux (amongst others) and also in Australia before settling in the Loire, thereby building up a wealth of experience without having been born into a wine producing family. Working organically in the vineyards he harvests by hand making successive tries throughout each vineyard ending with yields that are much lower than the appellation rules allow. In the winery the grapes are whole bunch pressed with no settling and the juice is kept cold before starting a long slow fermentation. He vinifies with natural yeasts and ages the wines on lees with minimal SO2 in a mixture of barrels ranging from 300-600 litres.

This Clos Fremine site adjoins Clos de la Hutte separated only by stone walls surrounding each Clos and a tiny road between and is planted to 1.5ha of vines from massale selection, with the original material coming from vines of more than 100 years old. Sloping towards the Loire the soils have a fine cover of sand blown over the underlying schist across many millenia which conveys a silky elegance to the resulting wine, giving more immediacy and enabling this wine to be appreciated in its youth.

Other Reviews....
The Clos de Frémine sits across a country lane from Clos de la Hutte, so it's a similar climate; however, at Clos de Frémine, the wine is lighter, more sandy with brighter light. The 2020 is a delicate, almost quiet wine that has a line of acidity that is like a taut wire. There's a silken, airy mouthfeel with delicate pineapple flavors and nectarine, which suffuses the mouth on the long, mineral finish. It gives the impression that it has a low pH due to its tangy acid and salinity, but the pH is actually at 3.6, which is rather high all things considered. Rather attractive. Drink 2022-2038.
93 points
Rebecca Gibb MW - Vinous