Safety belts should be compulsory when drinking this wine. In fact, any Anjou Blanc Sec that’s worth its salt should propel you forwards and push your eyes back into your head. It’s a wine for thrill-seekers who don’t wince when they encounter the G-force of northern European acidity. Cutting-edge winemaker, Thibaud Boudignon, has fashioned a beauty from the 2023 harvest in the Loire. Pale straw in colour and displaying aromas and flavours of apple granita, lime pith, grapefruit and just a hint of honeycomb or wax or pollen or something of interest to bees. The palate has laser-like precision and focus and will only become more and more interesting as it unclenches over the next decade. 12.5% alc. Drink now-2034.

Press review:

Vinous (previous vintage): “A pure, clean wine with delectable purity. There are delicate flavours of just-ripe pineapple, citrus, nettles, and a subtle hint of vanilla. It is fermented and aged in both 500 litre barrels and oval Stockinger ‘cigars’. A line of acidity pulls the wine through to a refined conclusion. It can be approached now for its refined fruit, but will go on.” 91 points

The Wine Advocate (previous vintage): “The 2022 Anjou Blanc from Thibaud Boudignon reveals a perfumed, exotic bouquet with aromas of green mango, pineapple, pear and spices intertwined with a touch of toast. More depth and fleshier than the 2021, it’s medium-bodied, perfectly balanced with a seamless, layered texture and a delicately bitter finish.” 93 points