5/17/25 - 

Today's email features new arrivals from some of the greatest winemakers in the Loire, as well as an exciting new discovery, along with returning favorites designed to refresh and enliven your spring and summer! 
 
We begin with the delicious Anjou wines of Margot Rousseau-Petit and Natalia Santo aka Margot et Natalia, based in Champs-sur-Layon. (Pictured above, with Margot on the right) Starting with a tiny plot loaned by Thomas Batardière, they now 4 hectares of Chenin, Grolleau, Gamay and Cabernet Franc, with new plantings of Pineau d'Aunis. After working with Batardiere and Benoit Courault, Margot and Natalia are on their own, making delightful, refreshing wines that sell out quickly in France - we're fortunate to have three of their beautiful 2022s on offer today.

Ismaël 2022 - 100% grolleau, 12-day maceration in layers of whole clusters and de-stemmed grapes, pressing by hand, elevage in cuve, bottled in the spring of 2023.

Salve 2022 - 100% chenin, direct press by hand, élevage in cuve, bottled in spring 2023.

Mater Furiosa 2022 - 100% cabernet franc, 5 day whole-cluster maceration, pressed by hand, élevage in cuve. A rosé or a very light red - you decide!

(Comment from a west-coast customer: "Oh putain - le chenin Salve is really too good! I can't wait to try the Grolleau and the Cab Franc. Thanks for this superb discovery!")

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Following the Layon upstream we encounter La Ferme de la Sansonnière where Mark and Martial Angeli and Bruno Cioffi are making some of the world's most distinctive Chenins. We apologize for the tiny quantities available, we hope to receive additional wine over the next few weeks.
 
Some Chenin fans think that the most elegant wines come from Savennières, just to the east on the right bank of the Loire, and especially those of Thibaud Boudignon. We're pleased to offer the beautiful 2023 Anjou Blanc and 2023 Savennières "Clos de Fremine."
 
We follow the Loire downstream to Nantes and the gorgeous Muscadets of Domaine de la Pépière and Domaine de la Parentière. The importer has just received new shipments, and despite the tariffs these wines remain among the finest values anywhere, both in their scintillating youth and after 10 to 20 years of aging.  We have recently enjoyed a bottle of the Pépière 2022 Cru Clisson - this is a great wine, dense, concentrated and beautifully balanced - ten years from now (if you can keep your hands off it) it will be singing and will continue to do so until 2045. Find some room in your cellar! 2024 was a difficult vintage in the Loire with very low yields - fortunately the 2023s at Pépière are superb - the 2023 Briords Vieilles Vignes has just returned and is perfect for current drinking and ten to fifteen years of cellaring. Domaine de la Parentière's 2018 Quatre Vents - Cuvée Excellence is a unique and gorgeous Muscadet  (oops - can't call it Muscadet because it aged on the lees for 66 months!). Serve with lobster or a full-flavored fish dish and be happy!
 
Our trip heads back east to Touraine after stops for beautiful Chenins from Domaine Bellivière and the Clos de la Roche Bleue in Jasnières along with our last stock from Jacky Blot in Saumur.
 
Our last stop for white wines is the vertiginous hillsides of Chavignol, where Jean-Paul Labaille at Domaine Thomas-Labaille makes one of the finest Sancerres from vines on "Les Monts Damnées" - the 2023 is a sensational wine, only 24 bottles are left!
 
Drum-roll please, the 2024 Domaine Baudry Chinon Rosé is almost here! No description of this elegant wine is needed but we may not have it until after Memorial Day, please be patient! Along with the 2022 Baudry Chinon "Domaine" we offer a few of our favorite Bourgueils from Stéphane Guion and Domaine de la Chevalerie to perfectly accompany your spring and summer cookouts!

-David Lillie

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