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Anthony Gismondi on Wine
Mai and Kenji Hodgson Faia Vin Blanctext
90POINTS
16½/20

Mai and Kenji Hodgson Faia Vin Blanc 2014

Anjou, Loire, FranceWine-savvy Vancouverites will remember Kenji Hodgson as half of Kenji & James, The Province wine columnists (James Nevison handles the column solo now). Kenji and his partner Mai followed their love of wine to the Loire, settling in the village of Rablay-sur-Layon and making small lots of sustainably grown, natural wines. Faia is chenin blanc from shale soils, whole cluster pressed and then transferred directly to barrel for a slow, long (6-8 months) fermentation, on lees. Crystalline acidity hallmarks this linear, lean white, lingering with a pinpricking minerality long after the last sip. Tight green apple, white honey, delicate white florals, savoury broken stone, mandarin pith and bitter herbs glide on the palate's lightly leesy chenin sheen through to the lengthy finish, where a textured riff of green apple skin and minerality carries this out. Authentic, textural, savoury, characterful and best enjoyed the day it's opened.Tasted: 21 March 2016Tasted by: Treve RingPrices:
BC$37.00750mlprivate wine shops
Producer: Mai and Kenji HodgsonDistributors: Racine Wine Imports
Grape: Chenin BlancCSPC: 771410