Jacky Preys "Cuvée Silex" Touraine Blanc, Loire Valley, France 2023

FROM NORTH BERKELEY IMPORTS:

THE WINE: 100% Sauvignon Blanc. During France’s Napoleonic era, Touraine and its environs were the main source of gunflint for the army. While mines have long since made way for grape vines, the region’s flinty heart has remained, much to the joy of vine growers who cultivate Sauvignon Blanc on these mineral-rich, “silex” soils. Since the early 1940s, the Preys winemaking family has been privy to the secrets of “silex” and made sure to plant Sauvignon Blanc vines on these flint-rich soils, knowing (like their vinous compatriots in Sancerre, for example) that this vine-soil combo made for intensely aromatic wines, immediately identifiable by their subtle yet tantalizing incense notes, reminiscent of the spark of gunflint.

THE PRODUCER: While Jacky Preys and his son Pascal own one of the larger wineries in Touraine, what has set the family apart is their particular attention to native Loire varieties like Fié Gris. Today Loire winemakers can help further the renaissance of Fié Gris, thanks to Preys’ work in conserving his ancient rootstock. Preys cares for his vines according to sustainable methods and only uses indigenous yeasts in the cellar. He harvests his older Fié Gris vines by hand, and ferments and ages it on fine lees in stainless steel tanks.