View from the Cellar 93+
"The 2018 Silex Noir bottling from the Pinon family is a beautiful example of the vintage, with a bit more residual sweetness in 2018 than is often the case for this wine, which is allowed to finish its fermentation wherever it feels balanced, so that it can range from a fairly dry DemiSec style in some vintages to a lighter Moelleux, which is where it landed in 2018. The bouquet is bright, complex and very refined, offering up scents of fresh pineapple, quince, a lovely blend of chalky and flinty soil tones, a hint of honeycomb, citrus peel and white lilies. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, focused and zesty, with a lovely core of fruit, excellent soil undertow, ripe acids and a long, balanced and beautifully complex finish. I love the backend lift here. 2021- 2055+." ~ JG

Vinous Media 90
"Pinons demi-sec often might be termed tendre, with a lot of tension. But this falls on the sweeter side, a true demi-sec with 26 grams per liter residual sugar. Aromas of flavors of ripe pear and apricot and less floral the 2017. Lots of solid minerality throughout, though softer than 2017. Aged 6-7 months in a mix of large and small older barrels." ~ JW

100% Chenin Blanc. Silex noir is a rare black flint found almost exclusively in this tiny corner of Vouvray, the Valle de Cousse. it lends its name to this bottling, one of Pinon's two demi-sec bottlings (other is "Trois Argiles"). "Silex Noir" comes mainly from 2 parcels totaling 3.7 hectares on a south-southeast slope. The flinty soils drain well and thus are warmer and help ripen grapes earlier than in other parcel. Overall vine age averages 45 years and the farming has been certified organic since 2007. "Silex Noir" is made identically to Pinon's other demi-sec terroir bottling, "Trois Argiles". The bunches are harvested by hand, rigorously sorted and directly pressed. The juice flows by gravity into underground tanks for a spontaneous native-yeast fermentation that lasts 2-3 months and stops naturally in Pinon's cold cellar. The wine is aged on its fine lees for 4-5 months in a variety of old oak ranging from 500-liter demi-muids to 20-hectoliter foudres. The 2018 finished with 26 grams RS and 4.1 grams acidity.