The wines are also released at a leisurely pace, so that Domaine Aux Moines’s 2006 Savennieres - Roche Aux Moines represents their current release. In a sadly vintage-typical manner, this wine is challenged by prickly heat of (as per the label) 14.5% alcohol and prickly notes of incipient botrytis bitterness. That said, it nonetheless offers a fascinating combination of peach, citrus oils, raw mushroom, and alkaline, wet stone suggestions of things mineral. In the mouth, this is richly peachy with prominent citrus oil and peach kernel bitterness. It preserves more than a modicum of fresh fruit juiciness, but too little to entirely override the wine’s finishing heat. Perhaps time will be easier on the Savennieres of this vintage than I am prepared to be now, but I would plan to serve this wine over the next couple of years. The mother-daughter team of Monique and Teresa Laroche craft some of their regions classics, which they continue to sell at prices that belie their quality much less their officially premier cru status.Importer: WineWise, Oakland, CA 94618; tel. (510) 848 6879