2024 Sébastien Bobinet Poil de Lievre Chenin Blanc

Green apple, almost-ripe pear, and lime leaf with a laser beam of chalky minerality that just lights up the glass. This natural Loire Valley Chenin Blanc is picked early for maximum freshness — crisp, bright, and bracing with a slightly creamy finish. 100% biodynamic Chenin Blanc from limestone soils, spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts, aged in stainless steel. Unfined, unfiltered, minimal sulfur.

We met Sébastien at a wine fair in Angers — he and Émeline are as genuine and inviting as their wines.

Sébastien is a seventh-generation vigneron who took over his grandparents' vines and 17th-century tuffeau cave cellar in Saumur in 2002. His partner Émeline Calvez — trained sommelier turned winemaker — joined him in 2011. Together they farm over 6.5 hectares of certified organic and biodynamic vines on Saumur's iconic limestone soils. "Poil de Lièvre" — hare's fur — is their iconic bistro Chenin, the fresh and zippy counterpart to their age-worthy Les Gruches.