Domaine Guiberteau Les Moulins 2017 Magnum

Grape: Chenin Blanc
Vintage: 2017
Type: White

This white was created as a home for Guiberteau's non-certified fruit, chenin from younger vines around Berrie and Épieds still in organic conversion when the cuvée began. Grapes are whole-cluster pressed, settled for 24 hours, then fermented on ambient yeast in stainless steel with full malolactic conversion. 6 months in steel is the entire élevage, no barrel at all. Les Moulins is the direct, unshaded version of what Guiberteau does with chenin elsewhere in oak.

It displays a pale straw color, opening with aromas of white flowers, green apple, and citrus pith. On the palate, the medium-bodied frame is chiseled and energetic, balancing orchard fruit against a clean mineral edge with no oak to round it. Malolactic softens the acid just enough to keep the wine lucid rather than sharp. A faint salinity carries through the middle. It finishes clean and precise, brighter and more direct than Guiberteau's barrel-aged bottlings.