Jacky Preys et Fils Cuvee de Fie Gris VV

Fié Gris

Loire Valley, France

In French, pierre à fusil means gunflint. Touraine was a center for gunflint production during the Napoleonic era. The region’s flint-rich soils infuse grapes with a vibrant, nervous energy that is translated as a whiff of smoke in the wine’s perfumes and in crisp and clean, citrus-inspired flavors.

Yet Preys’ flinty terroir is only half the story. Fié Gris is a Loire grape variety that was virtually forgotten until Jacky Preys discovered in a recently acquired vineyard a curious patch of pink-skinned grapes. Experts were consulted, and it turned out that these pre-phylloxera plants were Fié Gris, an ancient mutation of Sauvignon Blanc.