Savennieres is a highly respected white wine appellation of the Loire valley wine region of France. Located immediately south-west of the city of Angers, the parish of Savennieres falls within the wider Anjou district. It is home to the dry white wine regarded as one of the finest in the entire Loire region. Savennieres is the western Loire's answer to Sancerre and Vouvray.
As a result of the low maximum-yield restrictions imposed under Savennieres appellation laws, the wines are highly concentrated and can be surprisingly longlived. Many consumers actually find the most-structured wines, in their youth, too intensely steely and tart (they are comparable in this way to good Chablis). This character begins to dissipate after five or so years in bottle. All Savennieres wines are made from Chenin Blanc, the core white-grape variety of Anjou and the central Loire. They are typically intensely flavored, with flavors of warm straw, beeswax and chamomile; the best examples have discernible minerality and the ripest even a honeyed tinge – a reminder of the botrytis that once defined all of Savennieres' output.
For most of its history, Savennieres' wine has been sweet – or at least off-dry. It was not until the latter decades of the 20th century that producers and consumers alike began turning towards the drier style we know today. Savennieres now stands out proudly as the only dry white appellation in Anjou's sea of sweet wine. The vineyards responsible for Anjou Coteaux de la Loire wines are located immediately to the west, while across the Loire are the Coteaux du Layon and Coteaux de l'Aubance appellations, to the south and east respectively. No doubt there is potential for dry white wines to be produced within their vineyards, too, but none has yet demonstrated this as Savennieres has.
In 1996, the original 1952 Savennieres appellation laws were revised to include statements clarifying the sweetness levels of the wines. Standard Savennieres is now officially a dry wine, with its Demi-sec and Moelleux statements indicating higher levels of residual sugar. Wines claiming these latter titles (of which there are very few) are subject to more-stringent maximum-yield restrictions of 40hL per hectare rather than the standard 50.
There are two crus (named vineyard areas) in the Savennieres appellation, namely Coulee de Serrant and La Roche aux Moines. Although the appellation as a whole covers only 370 acres (150ha), these two lieux-dits have been identified as capable of producing exceptional Savennieres wines.
