Chidaine, François 2020 Montlouis Sur Loire Les Bournais

This is our favorite wine from François and Manuela Chidaine, long-time champions of organic and biodynamic farming in the Loire Valley. Named after the soil type "Les Bournais," a unique clay topsoil over limestone (tuffeau blanche) also found across the river in Vouvray and without the silex present in most Montlouis terroirs. First made in a sec-tendre style, recent vintages have been dry, with the 2020 showing power and balance  at 3 g/L RS, 14.5% alc and 3.95 g/L total acidity. In the glass, the color is glimmering lemon. The nose is firm with apricot, citrus peel, and oyster shell, with healthy green herbs and lovely grassy aromas. The palate is salty, with a touch of anise, with lime zest and a touch of bitter nectarine. A great swish in the mouth, punctuated by a beam of vibrant acidity. The finish is long and mouthwatering. Delicious!

Roche Bleue 2020 Jasnières Le Clos des Molières

From 25 - 30  year-old Chenin Blanc vines in a mid-slope parcel of thin clay and silex soils on limestone, yields of 25 hl/ha, certified organic with biodynamic methods as well, fermented and aged in 4 to 6 year-old barriques. Sébastien Cornille has quickly become one of the finest producers of Loire Valley Chenin Blanc on his 7 hectare estate in the Coteaux du Loir and Jasnières. The 2020 Jasnières "Clos es Molières" is an astonshing dry Chenin showing a bright pale gold color and subtle aromas of pear, nettle, almond, citrus and white earth. The palate is dense but crystalline and intensly mineral with white fruits, honey,  almond, citrus and stone flavors that continue in the scintillating finish. Serve now with an elegant shellfish or fish preparation or hold for ten to fifiteen years and serve with fish or chicken in sauce. Beautiful wine!

Huet 2022 Vouvray Le Mont Demi-Sec

13.5% alcohol, 21 gr/l RS, 3.9 gr/l total acidity, ph 3.25  With its green clay and its perfect exposition on the Première Côte de Vouvray just above the winery, Le Mont is an outstanding site for Chenin, and I have to admit often my favorite in the line-up. It has the lift and fruit of the Haut-Lieu, and the gravitas of Le Clos du Bourg, with a very specific wild mint freshness and a smokiness I care very much for: I think the demi-sec version is the paragon of the style! All the still wines at Huet are made the same way, the only difference being the picking, and the balance of the must. Aging happens mostly in larger, older barrels and sometimes partially in tanks, but always blended, to be bottled in April.  I always think this style for that site is such a rare treat to taste, as you have such a unique balance rarely found anywhere else in the region, and in the world, between acidity-tannins-sugar.   Pascaline Lepetier

Carême 2021 Vouvray Le Clos

The 2021 "Le Clos" from Vincent Careme is from a great "premiere cote" vineyard of very thin clay soils over the turonian limestone.  This is one of the best wines of Vouvray - it was brilliant as a demi-sec in 2008 and 2010 and the dry 2021 is equally beautiful, showing lovely aromas of lime-flower, white and yellow fruits, spice, lemon and stone with a hint of marzipan, really pretty! The palate is very mineral with stone, lemon, honeysuckle and herbal flavors with firm acidity and a long creamy finish. This is a great young Vouvray to serve with a wide variety of elegant cuisines -  or cellar for twenty years for a mature experience.

Closel (Château des Vaults) 2020 Savennières La Jalousie

The fruit from "La Jalousie" comes from  different parcels across all three main Closel micro-terroirs (plateau, hillsides or coteaux, and valley or coulée). The common theme is sandy, stony schist soils and certified-biodynamic farming. Harvest is by hand, at exactly the point where the grapes are just ripe, with cruncy, yellow-green skins and the freshest, brightest aromatics. The bunches are very gently direct-pressed, followed by a spontaneous fermentation to dryness with native yeasts and without sulfur in fiberglass tanks. The wine generally goes through malo and is aged in horizontal vats for maximum surface contact with the fine lees for around 10 months. The wine is bottled unfiltered, just 0.4 grams RS with 3.8 grams acidity and a 25 hl/ha-yield in 2020. "The bouquet is bright and complex, hopping from the glass in a vibrant mix of sweet quince, flinty, chalky soil tones, citrus peel, lanolin and a gentle floral topnote of white flowers. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, focused and zesty, with a good core of fruit, lovely soil signature, a fine spine of acidity and impressive length and backend lift on the long, complex and well balanced finish. This is lovely young Savennières." View from the Cellar

Pinon 2020 Vouvray Buvez du Bon Pinon

From the estate's website: "This is the renaissance of a cuvée created by my great-grandfather - a dry wine from our oldest parcel, planted in 1945 on soils of silex noir and vinfied in our oldest foudres - old 'tonneaux' from Porto purchased by my grandfather. We're using the label from the 1950s as well as the name of the cuvée - the famous 'Buvéz du Bon Pinon.' The fermentation lasted 2 to 3 months with only wild yeasts, which participate in the effect of 'terroir.' The fermentation was stopped by chilling the juice, followed by a soutirage, the wine then aged for 5 months in the old tonneaux. Aging potential of 15 to 20 years, serve with shellfish, oysters, cold fish, vegetable terrines, choucroute de la mer, rillettes and rillons." 7 grams/liter RS, 13.5% alcohol. This superb and elegant Vouvray is quite a contrast from the more open and expressive 2020 Sec. The "Buvez du Bon Pinon" is all elegance and depth, but quite closed, and just slightly opening on day two. The aromas are deep and creamy with subtle white peach, quince, earth, almond and stone, really needs time... The palate is dense and full with white and yellow fruits blending with earth, almond, anise and mineral notes. The wine is showing density and perfect balance but will need many years to really emerge - like the Huet Le Mont Sec, for example, give it ten years before drinking if possible - or a 12 hour decant if drinking now. Of course it's delicious today but try to wait...  David Lillie

Source du Ruault 2019 Saumur Blanc "La Coulée d' Aunis"

The Source du Ruault "Coulée D'Aunis" is from a beautiful south-facing vineyard near the Loire river on Turonian limestone with clay. The 2019 shows a lovely light gold color and aromas of dried pear, lemon zest, anise, lime-flower, almond and stone, very bright and vibrant. There is very firm chalky acidity on the palate, really a scintillating texture with white fruits, citrus, herbal and stone flavors. The finish is long and extremely mineral, almost bitter, with brisk acidity lingering on the palate. Give this a decant or open the night before if drinking now, serve this  bright and vibrant Chenin with shellfish, a full-flavored ceviche, baked cod. Beautiful now, five to ten years of cellaring will be very interesting...

Thomas-Labaille 2022 Sancerre Chavignol Cuvée Buster

This is old vine Sancerre from the estate of Claude Thomas now run by his son-in-law, Jean-Paul Labaille. The vines are in Les Monts Damnées, in Chavignol, on a similar type of Kimmeridgian marl soil that also shows up in Premier Cru Chablis. Only two barrels are made, from the oldest vines on "Les Monts Damnees." This is one of the best wines of Sancerre and will accompany the most elegant fish and shellfish preparations. (And yes, there's an ugly dog on the label, a joke by importer Joe Dressner on the ridiculous super-cuvées much in vogue in the 90's when this label was designed.) The 2022 is very elegant with subtle aromas of stone, citrus, white fruits and herbs, with a bit more ripeness than usual in the sunny 2022 vintage. The palate shows firm acidity backing dense mineral, citrus and pear flavors that open and grow more complex with air, or time in the cellar. Decant if drinking now, superb wine!