The first time we encountered Thibaud Boudignon’s Savennières ‘Clos de la Hutte’ it clobbered us. We didn’t know anything about Boudignon or his wines, so we expected something typical of the appellation: a wine of opulent, confit fruit flavors, dry but unctuous, maybe even honeyed.

Instead, the wine was like a salty lemon laser beam melting our faces: brilliant, explosive, and precisely focused. Amazing out of the gate, it continued to blossom sip by sip, showing the kind of depth and class of a first-rate Grosses Gewächs or Grand Cru Chablis.

In the span of one bottle, Boudignon blew our minds. How did he make this kind of Savennières? We didn’t really understand until we visited him at his winery in May 2022.

The Clos de la Hutte is a true clos, a walled-in parcel that once belonged to an abbey. It sits right next to his winery and, while Boudignon makes several single-vineyard cuvées, he acknowledges that ‘Hutte’ has a special combination of power and elegance, which he attributes to the soils of sand of schist. There’s much less clay here than in more ‘typical’ Savennières terroirs, like Roche Aux Moines or Épiré.

But there’s more to it than just terroir; Boudignon, a former Judo champion, is meticulous to the point of being fanatical. During our visit, we watched him talk with a man who was installing a gate to one of his vineyards, spending considerable time discussing how the gate would swing and how it would close, in minute detail.

Thibaud planted Hutte in 2011 from very specific cuttings — including some from Domaine Huet — and now labors over the vines with bonsai garden-like obsession and biodynamic techniques. As we walked the Clos, Thibault stopped at individual vines, remarking on how they were doing early in the season, thinking about how he would care for them over the coming months, agonizing over their health like they were his children.

And now, three years later, that 2022 fruit has been harvested, the juice fermented, the wine aged and shipped to us. And it’s spectacular. This isn’t just our view: Vinous' Rebecca Gibb gave it 97 points. Clos de la Hutte is one of our favorite wines ever and this is the best bottling yet. We’re very excited to have enough wine to offer here today.

Thibaud Boudignon, Savennières ‘Clos de la Hutte,’ 2022 $119.99
Magnums (even more limited) $240
This is already almost shockingly delicious, as Gibb says, “tender and generous in the mouth, welcoming you in.” But it is so much more: subtle, complex and ageworthy – give it time in the glass (or even a decanter, if you’re inclined) and watch the nose open up to reveal multiple layers; follow as the palate shimmers its way through a stunning range of flavors and feelings.

In Gibb’s words again: “There's a cloud of gently handled fruit that embraces the palate, but it does so in an elegant and light-on-its-feet way. Texturally, it's seamless and coats the mouth with fine texture. In terms of flavor, expect salty, briny notes and citrus tones alongside a touch of spice and nutty oak on the finish. This is a wine that seems to be able to take a deep, calming breath and become more complete.”