LEVIN Wines releases new vintage organic 2012 Sauvignon Blanc

Media release

Friday, 4 December 2015

Melbourne, Australia (for immediate release)

Organic Loire Valley winery LEVIN Wines is very pleased to release their latest vintage, the gold medal-winning 2012 Sauvignon Blanc, just in time for the Australian summer. David and Lynne Levin were thrilled to be awarded GOLD atConcours Mondial Sauvignon (World Sauvignon Competition) 2013 – and now to present the wines to their Australian clients.

The Levins both have a rich background in hospitality – David Levin also owns The Capital Hotel and The Levin Hotel in London and Lynne Levin has been a Good Food Guide-hatted restaurateur and leading international figure in the food and wine industry for more than 40 years – and so they take a unique approach to their production of their Sauvignon Blanc:

‘Unlike many Sauvignon Blanc producers around the world, we insist on releasing our wines with optimum bottle development, not as dictated by cash flow. Picking and vinifying each of our 19 vineyards separately allows us to create a blend that is the finest expression of that vintage, creating layers of textured aromatics and flavours. The vineyards were first established to produce mature wines that matched with the food in our Michelin-starred restaurant. So, continuing to present intense, perfumed, supple wines with balance and minerality that complements a range of dishes is of the highest importance to us,’ explains Lynne Levin.

The wine

LEVIN Sauvignon Blanc 2012 Loire, VDP du Val de Loire, France (RRP $39 per bottle)

The zippy and charming LEVIN Sauvignon provides a pure expression of healthy Loire fruit underpinned by characteristic minerality.

Appearance: Clear and day bright with light green reflections.

Nose: Clean and fresh with a subtle herbaceous nose with refreshing citrus notes, leading to aromas of exotic fruits and wild mint which typifies the LEVIN style.

Palate: Complex and refreshing with intense flavours that echo the nose; wild mint, a subtle herbaceousness, citrus and pink grapefruit with fruit characters and just a hint of some exotic fruit. Underpinned by characteristic minerality and a delicious mouth-watering acidity.

Certification Agriculture Biologique (Organic) 

GOLD MEDAL – Concours Mondial Sauvignon 2013 (World Sauvignon Competition)

The terroir

LEVIN has 19 distinct vineyards on two different types of terroirs. The sites are planted in the villages of Bourré, Choussy and Oisly, some 15 to 20 kilometres apart, over about 20 hectares.

The grapes from Bourré-Vallée du Cher soil are planted on the region’s famed Tuffeau* limestone, mixed with a harmonious blend of loose and flinty clay, mica and sand, which greatly aid in the building of body, texture and minerality in the wine. The soils of the Choussy and Oisly vineyards are of sandy topsoil sitting on top of a thick layer of excellent smectite clay, which provide the wine with the fruit flavours, aromas and bouquet we aim to achieve.

The vineyards are farmed organically with viticultural practices which although labour intensive, are designed to respect all environmental aspects in both the vineyards and winery. In 2005, LEVIN began to use biodynamic pulverizations and green fertiliser to stimulate the microbiological life into the soils and improve the vines’ natural immunity system and have since been Certified Organic by the exacting French certification body Ecocert.

The Loire Valley’s semi-continental climate – chilly nights and warm days – allow for slow and complex ripening periods, producing a unique aromatic profile.

The winemaking

LEVIN Wines is also certified organic in the winery and we take care to preserve our pristine fruit. Each vineyard undergoes daily maturation testing, with 19 individual vineyards of varying ages and terroirs, it allows us to hand pick our grapes at perfect maturation as each vineyard progressively ripens. Hand harvested grapes are swiftly brought to the winery where they are destemmed and chilled before entering the press. This preserves the aromatic profile and reduces oxidisation.

The fermentation tanks are stainless steel and temperature controlled.  The wines are fermented at a lower temperature in sealed tanks, which helps prevent oxidative flavours from developing. These are key factors in preserving the aromatics that delivery exceptional wine. Cold stabilisation and a long maturation period allows the development of the complex flavours leading to increased flavour.

For LEVIN Wines, the process is one of controlled simplicity. The goal is to permit the grapes to express their full potential with as little intervention as possible.

David and Lynne Levin are committed to producing a world class Sauvignon Blanc in the Loire Valley, in its original home in The Loire. LEVIN integrates modern winemaking, with the ancient terroir of the Loire Valley -- a wonderful marriage of 'new world' and 'old world’ -- much like the Levins themselves.

*Tuffeau soil is marine sedimentary limestone formed during the Upper Cretaceous Period, around 100 million years ago. Over millennia, mineralised fossil marine creatures were deposited, when the Loire was an ancient inland sea. Mixed with sand, mica and flinty clays from later eras, the Tuffeau creates the some of the best vineyards soils in the world, particularly for Sauvignon Blanc. It’s chalky-white, luminescent quality was also prized for the construction of Loire Valley’s renaissance châteaux.

LEVIN Wines Australian retail stockists include: Annangrove Cellars, Armadale Cellars, Blackhearts & Sparrows, Canterbury Cellars, Chaucer Cellars, Harvest Wine & Liquor, Leo’s Fine Foods and Robin Hood Hotel.

 

For more information, please contact: Lynne Levin lynne.levin@levinwines.comor for media support in Australia, Kimberley Pearce kp@winebrain.com.au 0413 120 385. To download LEVIN Wines images, please visit http://bit.ly/1NmLSYG 

 

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Levin Wines is a boutique, family-owned, organic winery that has been producing wine in the Loire Valley for 30 years.

David Levin, owner of The Capital Hotel in London, originally started growing grapes in the Loire Valley in 1986 to produce his own private label wines. David’s yearly travels to Australia introduced him to new world practices, not then used in Europe and so, he had a winery designed in South Australia and built on the estate. Today, David Levin’s wife, Lynne, manages the domaine and Levin Wines’ export all over the world.

Levin Wines’ vineyards cover some 20 hectares across three sites in Bourré, Choussy and Oisly, in the eastern Touraine-Amboise section of the Loire Valley. The Bourré vineyards, are on a Tuffeau terroir comprising flinty clay over thick limestone mix. The Tuffeau rocks are composed of millions of fossilised marine animals containing traces of mica and sand.  

Levin Wines’ village, flagship and premium cuvée wines are available in 14 countries and have collected awards from Sommelier Wine Awards, Decanter Wine Awards and World Sauvignon Competition. The Levins are committed to producing a world class, organic Sauvignon Blanc – and Gamay – in the Loire Valley, Sauvignon Blanc’s original home.

Levin Wines is Certified Organic in both the winery and vineyards, utilises biodynamic practices and a biodiversity program that includes hand picking and green harvesting, bottling under screw cap and a commitment to land conservation. Certified Organic No 64932 / 12P ECOCERT. 

Proprietors: David & Lynne Levin

Established in 1986
Production Capacity: 10,000 cases