Raffault, Olga 2020 Chinon Rosé

The Olga Raffault Chinon rosé has gotten better and better over the past few years, perhaps it's their move towards organic farming and the fine work of Sylvie Raffault and her husband Eric de la Vigerie. 100% Cabernet Franc, 10-hour maceration and slow wild-yeast fermentation. 2020 is "a sunny Rosé vintage, deep and aromatic, with fine acidity, sparkling with freshness." The wine is round and ripe and simply delicious, quite crisp and refreshing showing lovely bright pink color, hints of raspberry and strawberry fruit, ripe but dry and balanced on the palate with a bit of peach and red berries in the finish with bright saline acidity. "Particulièrement gouleyant" it says on the label and we couldn't agree more!

Grange Tiphaine 2020 Touraine Tournage Riant

The delightful 2020  Grange Tiphaine "Tournage Riant" is a blend of Cabernet Franc, Cot, Gamay and Grolleau, both from the estate and other organic growers, grown on clay/silex soils in Touraine Amboise. There is a slow direct press, then elevage in cuve, with the subtle aromas beautifully preserved in the wine. This is a very dry, delicate style of rosé but with nice weight on the palate and a refreshing bright finish. Enjoy this lovely wine by itself as an aperitif or serve with grilled chicken, pork or charcuterie.

Gilbert, Philippe 2020 Menetou-Salon Rosé

Once again, Philippe Gilbert has produced an elegant and refreshing Pinot Noir rosé  from his vines in Menetou-Salon, in the commune of Morogues, in biodynamic farming since 2006. Very pale pink color. Subtle, lovely aromas of floral-tinged raspberry with citrus and peach. The palate is very light but with good concentration of pure berry fruits and a bit of exta ripeness as 2018, 2019 and now 2020 have been warm, dry vintages,  with mineral flavors that are lifted by crisp acidity. The finish is long and elegant. This is a superb rosé for those seeking subtlety and balance, highly recommended!

Grange Tiphaine 2020 Vin de France Sparkling Rosa, Rosé, Rosam

"Rosa, Rosé, Rosam" is a gorgeous pet-nat, primarily Cabernet Franc with Gamay, Grolleau, and Côt made by the talented Damien and Coralie Delecheneau in Touraine. The vines are 70 to 80 years old and were planted in the clay and limestone soils by Damien's great grandfather.The 2020 was hand-harvested on the 4th an 9th of September, 100% direct press to preserve the aromatic finesse, followed by alcoholic fermentation at low temperature. Botled with residual sugar and no additives, the mousse produced naturally in the bottle. "It's a swimming pool wine" say the Delecheneaus "nothing complicated, just the simple pleasure of a fruity and refreshing 'bulle.'" It's quite delicious with bright, juicy strawberry and ripe cherry notes, and frothy, fully sparkling on the palate. Perfect for bringing to the next outdoor gathering!

Pinon, François 2019 Vin de France Petillant Naturel Rosé

50% Cot and 50% Grolleau, organically farmed in Vouvray by Julien and François Pinon. This is an elegant and very delicious Pet Nat that will accompany just about anything and is delightful as an aperitif by itself. The aromas are quite pretty with ripe raspberry, strawberry and red currant with hints of rose and blood orange. The palate is fresh and creamy with raspberry and tart strawberry with a nice mineral kick and sappy fruit in the refreshing finish. Grab this before it's gone...  DL

Autran, Michel 2018 Vouvray Petillant Cap a l'Ouest

(12 btls only!) Michel Autran's Vouvray Petillant is a beautifully elegant sparkling Chenin and a great value! There are subtle white fruit and floral aromas and flavors but they are framed in chalk and saline minerals with very firm vibrant acidity, giving this wine a crystalline elegance. This will be a great aperitif of course, but will be great at dinner as well, with oysters and mildly favored fish and chicken dishes.  Highly recommended.  David Lillie

Pépière 2019 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Les Gras Moutons

This lovely wine clearly illustrates the difference between the granite and gneiss terroirs in Muscadet. Gras Moutons is a great parcel on gneiss, in layers that permit a deep penetration by the vines, with sandy clay and amphibolite stones. The vines are at the top of a hill and on the south-facing slope overlooking the Maine. (The name, by the way, does not refer to fat sheep, but rather in local dialect, to the hilltop vineyard site.) This terroir produces lovely, classic Muscadet to drink over the next 5 to 8 years, it has a more herbal and floral bouquet than the granite-based wines and the palate, although refreshing and bright, is softer and more open. The 2019 Gras Moutons is a sensational Muscadet showing a pale bronze color and beautiful aromas of ripe pear and quince with hints of anise, stone and almond; The palate is very dense and mineral with ripe pear and white peach, quite supple and ripe but framed in firm acidity, perhaps a bit softer than the 2018. The finish is long and dense with white fruits, citrus and mineral flavors - this will pair beautifully with a full-flavored fish or chicken dish. Five to eight years of aging will bring out the complexity of this lovely wine. Highly recommended and a great value!  David Lillie

Baudouin 2018 Anjou Blanc 'Effusion'

The Patrick Baudouin "Effusion" is 100%  Chenin Blanc from 35 year old vines in 2 parcels with volcanic rock: Ardenay in Chaudefonds sur Layon (micaceous shale, sandstone, silica) and Bruandières in Saint Aubin de Luigné (shale, Caboniferous-era sandstone). Certified organic (Ecocert). Gentle pressing, indigenous yeast fermentation. Aged in older Burgundian oak barrels (1 to 4 years old). Blending and settling in tank before bottling.

Effusion is a wine of aromatic freshness, as its name suggests, while remaining well structured. Serve with everything from appetizers to cheese, including fish and grilled white meats.

Grange Tiphaine 2019 Montlouis-sur-Loire Clef de Sol Blanc

Clef de Sol means treble clef and is a tribute to music, Damien being an accomplished clarinetist and Coralie a choir singer. Clef de Sol is a blend of different southern exposed plots located in Montlouis on sandy perruches, i.e. clay and flint over tuffeau. The vines are mostly 80 years old, and farmed biodynamically. Hand-harvested mid-september, the grapes are sorted in the vineyard and the cellar, whole-cluster pressed, then fermented in barrels (225 and 400 l) in the underground cellar. Fermentations are spontaneous and malo occurs, without making the wine lose its tension. The wine is aged for a year on the fine lees, and lightly filtered with a sulfur dioxide adjustment. Clef de Sol is without a doubt a benchmark wine for Montlouis, in the line of François Chidaine’s Les Bournais but drier, with more density and less oak than Jacky Blot’s cuvées.

Grange Tiphaine 2018 Montlouis-sur-Loire Les Epinays

Since 2016, Damien has produced a single-vineyard wine from a part of Montlouis he considers well-suited for complex, age-worthy still dry chenin. He replanted the vineyard 15 years ago to be able to express the terroir at its best. The soil is sandier with more flints than other parts of the appellation, but you still find the perruches over tuffeau typical of the area. With its southern exposition, ripeness can be perfectly achieved. For such young vines, the result is already very impressive, which implies farming and terroir matter as much as age. Hand-harvested mid-september, the grapes are sorted in the vineyard and the cellar, whole-cluster pressed, then fermented in a 25 hl foudre. Fermentations are spontaneous and malo occurs, without making the wine lose its tension. The wine is aged for 18 months on its fine lees in foudre and in concrete egg, and lightly filtered with a sulfur dioxide adjustment.  Compared to Clef de Sol Blanc, Les Epinays is less broad, more linear and saltier, more floral and savory. The fruit is present but in the background - crabapple, white peach, tangerine zest. The wine is definitely dry, but with a great creamy texture. If you like the densest expression of Chinon or Saumur Blanc, you will enjoy this cuvée very much. Cellar it for 10 years, or enjoy it today in a Burgundy glass not too cold. You want a dish with iodine or umami for this wine : scallop carpaccio with yuzu, soy sauce and radish, or a porcini ravioli with chicken and mushroom jus. 100% Chenin. Pascaline Lepeltier.

Gilbert 2019 Menetou-Salon Blanc

Philippe Gilbert makes beatiful wines in Menetou-Salon, which abuts Sancerre, including lovely rosé and red from Pinot Noir and superb Menetou-Salon blanc from Sauvignon Blanc, certified Biodynamic by Demeter. The living soils are evident in this  lovely wine, showing elegant aromas of pear, fig, citrus peel, lime flower, anise and stone. The palate is very mineral with firm chalky acidity unerlying pear, almond, citrus, stone and herbal flavors. This is a great pairing with any mild fish preparation and goat cheeses and it's far superior to most Sancerres in this price range.  David Lillie

Baudry 2019 Chinon Cuvée Domaine

 The Baudry Chinon "Domaine" is always one of our favorite reds from the Loire Valley and it's a sensational value as well.   All Cabernet Franc of course, a blend of 75% from a parcel in St. Louans, where the thin clay/limestone soils give earthy well-structured wines, with 25% from gravel soils near Cravant, giving supple fruit and freshness. Organic farming, wild-yeast fermentation, aging in 5 to 10 year-old wooden vats and cement with almost no added SO2. The 2019 Domaine  shows a deep red/black color and beautiful fresh aromas of ripe red and black fruits with hints of earth, roast meat, black pepper and violet. The palate is dense and sapid with supple strawberry and blackberry liqueur, lacking a bit of the sweet, lush character of the 2018, but showing more underlying mineral flavors lifted by bright acidity. The fruit is quite ripe but the wine is beautifully balanced - it's delicious now and will be singing in 2031 as well. Highly recommended.   David Lillie

Baudouin 2015 Anjou Rouge Coteaux d'Ardenay

The Baudouin "Coteaux dArdenay" is Cabernet Franc (may have some Cabernet Sauvignon, depending on vintage) from vines planted in 1990 in Ardenay, a hamlet north of Layon with soil of volcanic rock, shale, sandstone and coal.  Certified organic (Ecocert) 100% de-stemmed, maceration by infusion, délestage, 40 days alcoholic fermentation in tank. Gentle pressing. Aged for 12 months in Burgundian oak barrels (2-4 years old). 4 months blending and settling in tank before bottling in spring. "The 2015 vintage is sunny but still full of finesse, neither vegetal nor candied. In the cellar, a long, sweet infusion. A "Terroir" wine, the Coteaux d´Ardenay presents complex and deep aromas allied to a fresh and long finish typical of the Loire Valley. The dense and structured but fine frame of this wine will allow a harmonious pairing with red meats of character, game, leg of lamb, beef ribs or steaks."

Gilbert 2018 Menetou-Salon Rouge

From 30 year-old vines planted at 10,000 vines per hectare, on clay over Kimmerigjian limestone in Menetou-Salon. Mostly de-stemmed, 3 week wild yeast fermentation in tronconic wood foudres. 12 months aging on the lees followed by 10 - 12 months in concrete vats. Philippe Gilbert's red Menetou-Salon, entirely from Pinot Noir, offers  tremendous  purity  of  fruit  tied  to  the  irrepressible  chalk-iness  and  steely  zip  of  the  area's  Kimmeridgian  soils.    The  wine  is  rewarding  in  its  ebulliant  youth  but  will  also  reward  time  in  the cellar, gaining complexity and notes of menthol and earth to complement its pleasing fruit

Grange aux Belles 2020 Vin de France La Chausée Rouge (Cab/Grolleau

 The 2020 "La Chausée Rouge" is  made with Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Grolleau, eight-day carbonic maceration, with juice drawn off daily, light-body, low alcohol - "we're trying to make Poulsard!" says winemaker Marc Boutin. Named after the vineyard site, a bloody battleground in the War of the Vendée. Nothing bloody about this lovely wine, which shows a bright red/garnet color and vibrant aromas of spicy crushed raspberry and strawberry, with violet, earth and citrus. The palate is light and sapid with nice density and length with earthy darker fruits, black raspberry and red currant, finishing with refreshing acidity and citrusy red fruits - just gorgeous and much too easy-drinking. Serve quite cool with just about anything...

Bonhomme, Pierre-Olivier 2019 Vin de France Vercheny

Pierre-Olivier Bonhomme currently works about ten hectares and  sources some fruit from trusted friends, also working organically. This vintage of the Vercheny (an anagram of Cheverny) is 100% Pinot Noir from 60 year-old vines in the "La Boissiere" vineyard. Grapes are hand-harvested, whole cluster fermentation occurs in vat, and the wine ages for at least six months in used 500L barrels. A spectrum of bright red fruits is present on the nose, with fresh red cherries and raspberries.  The wine is bright with acidity with nice density and a chalky texture with a touch of structure framing juicy red raspberries, strawberies, cherries and tangy red apple skin on the lingering finish. Just delicious!

Vins Contés (Lemasson) 2020 Vin de France R 20

 For those who are curious, this is 50% Cabernet Franc/40% Grolleau/10% Côt. For those who want a juicy vivacious natural wine with tons of personality, this is IT!  We've been fans of this wine since the first release and the 2020 is maybe our favorite one yet. Named after the infamous clunky (and somewhat unreliable) cars that were released by Renault in the 70's and 80's, it's supposed to illicit a grin, and it does. The difference, however, between wine and the car, is that Olivier's version is an actual work of art. Drink now or drink now. No added SO2.

Bonhomme, Pierre-Olivier 2018 Touraine KO In Cot We Trust

Pierre-Olivier Bonhomme's "In Cot We Trust" is one of the most vibrant, fascinating and delicious Malbecs of the Loire! From  a single parcel called "les Automnes" with 45 year-old vines on clay/limestone soils, 2 week whole-cluster maceration, fermentation and aging for 18 months in 500L demi-muids, zero added SO2. 2018 is a great vintage for this soulful wine, showing deep and ripe but very bright aromas, with beautiful ripe black fruits on the palate that is very fresh and long. Serve cool and enjoy! David Lillie