# Blank Sauvignon Blanc (2025)

- **Producer:** Laurent Saillard
- **Colour:** white
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Sauvignon Blanc
- **Region:** Loire, France
- **Style:** Natural
- **Alcohol:** 13.0%
- **Average price:** €30
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 10–12 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** lemon, grapefruit, apple, peach, gooseberry, herbaceous, toast, cedar, smoke

## About this wine

Laurent Saillard spent years working as a chef and restaurateur in New York City, co-owning the natural wine bistro Ici in Brooklyn, before returning to France to learn winemaking in the Loire Valley. He trained alongside renowned growers Didier Barouillet and Catherine Roussel of Clos Roche Blanche, as well as Noëlla Morantin. Following the retirement of the Clos Roche Blanche founders in 2015, Saillard acquired half of their historic vineyard site in Pouillé. The Blank cuvée is his premier white wine, produced from a dedicated plot of 70-year-old vines grown on pure limestone bedrock.

## Interesting facts

- Before making wine, Laurent Saillard was a chef and front-of-house manager at Balthazar and co-owned Ici in Brooklyn.
- Saillard acquired half of the legendary Clos Roche Blanche vineyard in Pouillé when the previous owners retired in 2015.
- This micro-cuvée is sourced from 70-year-old vines grown on limestone bedrock and aged entirely in neutral wood.

## Food pairing

The vibrant acidity and textured, wood-aged body of this old-vine Sauvignon Blanc cut through rich oily fish and creamy Loire goat cheeses, while bright citrus and herbal notes elevate delicate herbs and butter sauces.

## Wine making process

Hand-harvested from select old-vine rows, the grapes undergo non-interventional vinification starting with direct pressing. Spontaneous fermentation occurs using indigenous yeasts in wooden tronconic vats. Élevage is carried out in neutral wooden demi-muid casks for 6 to 12 months. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered with zero to minimal added sulfur dioxide.