Blanc de Lys Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc
SKU
BLSB202X10 UCAU
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Exceptional value Sauvignon Blanc IGP from the Loire with gold medals.
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The wines are fresh and elegant in style, with excellent varietal character.
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Produced by one of Touraine’s finest estates, owned and run by the Delaunay family for 5 generations.
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1 or more bottles$29.99
Editors notes
Gold Medal, Gilbert & Gaillard International Wine Challenge.
This zesty, fresh Sauvignon Blanc is produced by one of Touraine’s finest estates, owned and run by the Delaunay family for 5 generations. Joel Delaunay took over in 1965 and began producing estate-bottled wines in 1970. Today the winemaker
is Joel’s son Thierry, who has run the estate since 2004 with his wife Marie. Their 37 hectare is certified as practising sustainable agriculture since 2006.
The wines are fresh and elegant in style, with excellent varietal character of passionfruit, lime and flinty, stony minerals.
Details
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Wine Type
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Vintage
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Variety
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Brand
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Location
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Cellaring
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Closure
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Alcohol Percentage
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Bottle Size
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Oak Type
Tasting Profile
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Light (Light)Full (Full)
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Low Tannin (Low Tannin)Tannic (Tannic)
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Sweet (Sweet)Dry (Dry)
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Low Acidity (Low Acidity)High Acidity (High Acidity)
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Aroma
- Floral
- Lemon
- Mineral
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Palate
- Slate
- Stonefruit
- Tropical Fruit
Food Pairings
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Asian -
Fish -
Shellfish
Critic Scores & reviews
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Mark Faber
93"Pale lemon colour with a gentle mineral aroma that sets it aside from New World examples. Subtle passionfruit on the palate, backed by flinty minerality. Acidity is classically lean and brisk. Refreshing mineral finish. Outstanding value for money from a region renowned for it!"
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Locations
France
Wine is being produced throughout France and has been done for over 2,500 years with certain Châteaux dating their history back to Roman times, around 6th Century BC. Ranking second in the world in per-capita consumption and first in total production quantity. More so than the overall quantity of wine is the quantity of truly great wines coming out of France makes the nation the envy of wine-making nations worldwide.
Two concepts pivotal to the higher end French wines, in particular, are the idea of 'terroir' and the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) system. Terroir refers to the way the geography, geology and climate find their way into the glass, telling a story of the origin of the wine. The AOC was set up in 1935 and has the primary goal of protecting the authenticity of the wines and the livelihoods of the producers. Appellation rules strictly define which varieties of grapes and winemaking practices are approved for classification in each of France's several hundred geographically defined appellations, which can cover entire regions, individual villages or in some cases, like in Burgundy even specific vineyards.
Classic wine regions in France include Champagne (home of Champagne), Burgundy (Pinot Noir and Chardonnay), Bordeaux (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot), Alsace (Aromatic varietals), Loire Valley (Chenin Blanc, Crémant) and the Rhône Valley (Syrah, Grenache Mourvedre)
The Bordeaux classification of 1855 is still in use, as is the Sauternes and Barsac Classification of the same year. Wines from certain regions can be bought En Primeur, which is when the wine is sold prior to it being bottled.
Loire Valley
The Loire Valley wine region lies between the center and the northwest of France, along the Loire river. It is home to some of France's most well-known wines, notably, Sancerre, Muscadet, Vouvray and Pouilly-Fume.
The majority of output from Loire production is white wine, from grape varieties such as Sauvignon blanc, Chenin Blanc and Melon de Bourgogne grapes. There are in total 87 appellations in Loire, stretching from the Atlantic coast and heading inland near the city of Orléans. The region is commonly divided in to three subregions. The upper Loire is predominantly Sauvignon Blanc and includes the areas of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. Middle Loire is mostly under Chenin Blanc (and some Cabernet Franc) and includes villages of Touraine, Saumur, Chinon and Vouvray. Lastly in the lower Loire, to the west the Melon de Bourgogne grape variety thrives in the Muscadet region and is the most widely planted grape in the Loire.
Producers to seek out and try include: Henri Bourgeois, Mark Bredif, Domaine Bernard Fleuriet, Vincent Pinard, Eric Bordelet and Gerard Boulay.
Touraine
Touraine is a subregion of the Loire Valley wine region in France. It sits in the central part of the valley, where it enjoys a more continental climate – think cold winters and warm summers – further away from the moderating influences of the Atlantic Ocean that impact some other parts of the Loire. Touraine sees roughly 700mm of rainfall annually – sufficient to support viticulture – and soils comprise mostly sand, gravel, and limestone, with some chalk also featuring in the subregion. Touraine produces dry white wines as well as some off-dry and sweet styles and some tannin-rich red wines. For its whites, Touraine’s primary grape variety is Chenin Blanc (also known as Pineau Blanc de la Loire locally). However, Sauvignon Blanc and Arbois are other important white grapes for Touraine, and Pinot Gris also grows here. The dry whites are typically lively and full-bodied. For red wines and as a component of rosés, Cabernet Franc is the primary variety, bringing flavoursome, fruit-forward raspberry characters to these wines. Other red-wine grapes in Touraine include Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Côt (the local name for Malbec), Pinot Meunier, Pineau d'Aunis, Grolleau, and Gamay. Touraine produces dry rosés from Cabernet Franc, Côt, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Gris, Pineau d'Aunis, Gamay, and Grolleau. Young Touraine wines have a reputation for being light and fruity.
About the brand Domaine Joël Delaunay
Domaine Joël Delaunay is a family-owned estate, located in the Touraine AOC. Today, fifth-generation owner Thierry Delaunay runs the domaine. Like his forward-thinking father, Joël Delaunay, who insisted on estate bottling in 1970, Thierry was the first Touraine producer to bottle under screwcap in 2004. Domaine Joël Delaunay has 34 hectares of vineyards, practising sustainable viticulture. 90% of their production is white, with Sauvignon Blanc being the predominant grape variety, and 10% is red, mostly Gamay and Cabernet Franc.
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