Domaine du Closel Savennieres La Jalousie

The wine... Harvested under a rising moon, La Jalousie is the estate's fresh-and-fruity Savennieres, a Chenin Blanc made alive by the edge of acidity and minerality that underlies most great wines of the AOC, but also possessing a pure and accessible fruit component. In short, the wine is not arch, haughty, austere. It's pretty fun, actually, a wine that will make you will the fresh, young spring vegetables up from the ground, out of their winter slumber and onto your plate. Thin asparagus with a scant drizzle of vibrant green olive oil and sea salt would be a good place to start. Evelyne de Pontbriand recommends it with eel, a dinner idea which we heartily second. Apparently jealousy was the catalyst for the creation of this wine, though of what or who remains a secret to us....

The lucky break... The three generations of women who make this estate great believe in the power of the natural world. The universe does have a way of setting things back into balance, if you let it. I met Evelyne during a recent trip to France. In years past I'd sold some cases of wine from this estate, and thoroughly enjoyed their Chenins. But time and a million ordinary things to do and remember had made me forget their charm. Evelyne de Pontbriand and I were both in Montpellier to taste and talk about great new organic wines. I very nearly literally ran into her in the pre-dawn light of a cold morning. I was returning from some jogging tourism of the city's pedestrian core, part of a vain attempt to survive the arduous caloric onslaught that wine work in the south of France can be. She was already headed to the organic wine fair, hours before most of the participants would bother to roll in. We were both staying in the same sprawling, colorful hotel. Happily bumping into each other led to a chance to taste the wines again, which were special, as always.

The estate... Michele de Feligonde ran this 17-hectare estate for 30 years before passing control of its operation onto her daughter Evelyne. The women were elected to successive terms as President of the Savennieres AOC. The property they have diligently protected is both  a historic and well-regarded slice of Savennieres, and a very important bird and plant refuge.