Francois Pinon Silex Noir

100% Chenin Blanc. Silex Noir is named for the rare black-flint soils characteristic of these two parcels totaling 3.7 hectares that go into this bottling. They are on a S-SE-exposed slope below the plateau of the Trois Argiles parcels; the area is sunnier, warmer and more humid with a tendency toward botrytis, so these vines are harvested ahead of Trois Argiles.  The vines average 40 years old and have been certified organic since 2007.

The fruit is harvested by hand, rigorously sorted and whole-cluster pressed. The juice flows by gravity into tank for a spontaneous native-yeast fermentation that lasts 2-3 months; it stops naturally in Pinon's cold cellar carved into the tuffeau hillside. The wine is aged on its fine lees for 4-5 months in a variety of used oak ranging from 500-liter demi-muids to 20-hectoliter foudres. Silex Noir is vinified and aged just like its Deronnières and Trois Argiles counterparts; it comes out the most potently mineral and racy, with varying levels of sweetness, usually in the demi-sec range. The 2018 vintage finished with 26 grams RS and 4.1 grams acidity.