While the Laroches’ wonderful 2002 (reviewed in issue 172) was still available from them 7 or more years after its vintage, they have now also offered – at negligible premium in price! – their 2001 Savennieres - Roche Aux Moines, a much better-balanced and for them more typical wine than their 2006. Mysteriously saline, alkaline, musky, mossy, truffly, stale bread-, lichen-, kelp- and iris-like in the nose, this offers opulent texture and alcoholic body with scant heat and without disturbing the fascinating array of marine, forest floor, and stony nuances that parade into a long finish. Yes, there is a sense of fruit here: principally peach and passion fruit, with fruit pit bitterness adding persistent piquancy. But this is above all about rocks, trees, and stuff that grow on them. It should be fascinating to follow for another several years, although it already displays a mature array of flavors.The mother-daughter team of Monique and Teresa Laroche craft some of their regions classics, which they continue to sell at prices that belie their quality much less their officially premier cru status.Importer: WineWise, Oakland, CA 94618; tel. (510) 848 6879