Tasting note

This Chenin Blanc, the 2016 Le Bel Ouvrage, is now starting to throw off its youth and develop aging characters of lanolin and earthy notes alongside cooked pineapple. There's clearly been a lot of care put into this wine - the delicacy and transparency of the juice is fabulous - and although it packs plenty of power and drive, presumably from the schist and rhyolite soils, it does so in an elegant and light-footed way. There's no sense of being forced, and harmony is achieved. A smidgen more length would be very desirable.

Score: 97

Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous.com, March 2021