The mother-daughter team of Monique and Tessa Laroche keeps to a time-honored (and until the last 10-15 years, still widespread) Loire tradition of releasing wines only after some bottle age, as well as of offering selected older vintages. As fine as is their 2004, it will come as no surprise that the Laroche’s 2002 Savennieres - Roche Aux Moines is far better, and indeed a more remarkable value in halfway evolved white wine would be hard to find anywhere on earth save the Loire. (And how can they be charging the same price?!) A gorgeous nose of quince, honey, wet stone and bitter herbs segues into a bracingly-bright, bell-clear palate full of underlying richness (the fruit stretching to encompass pineapple and lime as well as quince) and intense (salty, stony, alkaline) minerality, yet downright refreshing in a way that Savennieres seldom deigns to be. The call and response of fruit and mineral here is as in a great Riesling and there is a sense of lift and primary juiciness that belie the wines 14% alcohol. Above all, there is mystery: a hint of truffle here, striking floral perfume there, and a finish with the depth and minerality of the ocean.Importer: WineWise, Oakland, CA 94618; tel. (510) 848-6879
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