Elixir de Tuf

Elixir de Tuf expresses limestone and also the richness of this botrytised wine. In favourable years, the latest selective picking of grapes over 20% volume potential gives birth to the wine " Elixir de Tuf ".

• APPELLATION:
  - Jasnières. Botrytised white wine.
• GRAPE VARIETY:
  - Chenin 100%.
• SOIL (TERROIR):
  - Clay with flint on tuffeau (limestone). Parcels oriented south/south-west to south/south-east in the crescent of Jasnières. Slopes down to the Loir.
• VITICULTURE:
  - Ground works : ploughing, earthing-up and hoeing. No weed killers.
  - Low yields. Manual harvest.
• VINIFICATION:
  - Matured in barrels.
  - The final balance is the work of nature.
• TASTING:
  - 2005: Smells of singed apricots lightly baked in black tea and apple jelly, and dusted citrus zest, gardenia petals, and brown spices. Rich and quite viscous in the mouth, with a hint of caramelization enhanced by new wood, yet pungent and bright and in a manner reminiscent of a great Mosel Beerenauslese, this has a firmer feel and less flattering creaminess than many other bellivière wines. But then, this is surely built for the long haul - by which I mean twenty or more years.
  Mark: 94 /100 - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate #172
• SERVICE:
  - Great ageing potential.
  - Open in advance.
  - Serve at 8-10°C.
  - Goes with a lemon tart or a terrine of citrus fruits in jelly
    See also: maturity period and food matches

PRESS REVIEWS

Robert Parker

2005: 94 /100   (Wine Advocate #172)

Classement des Meilleurs Vins de France

2004: 17 /20  (2007 edition)

Guide Fleurus des Vins

1997: 19 /20 - “Coup de Coeur” for this marvellous wine which offers rare sensations! Eric Nicolas brings Jasnières to the top with this legendary Chenin of old vines harvested by several selective pickings then matured in recent barrels! (2001 ed.)
1997: 20 / 20 - We thought we had reached the top with the wine "Discours de Tuf". Here, we are at the forefront of the quintessence of what the Chenin can bring, a tasty and sensual liquor . An extraordinary bottle. (2000 edition)

Magazine Gault et Millau

Elixir de Tuf 1999 is a “coup de coeur” of Troisgros restaurant. This year deserved exceptional and this bottle takes its place among the most outstanding bottles of the wine list. (Feb/Mars 2004)