($12, Pasternak Wine Imports):  The Clissages d’Or label is a part of the estate of Guy Saget, the very talented Loire producer, and represents their best vats of Muscadet.  And it is very good Muscadet, indeed.  It delivers the bracing vibrant–almost tooth rattling–acidity of Muscadet, but with an enticing chalky element and depth. … Read more

($24, Pasternak Wine Imports):  Anyone who wants a lesson in the French concept of terroir–the notion that where the grapes grow determines the nature of the wine–should taste this Sancerre and Saget’s 2008 La Petite Perrière (also reviewed this week) side by side.  … Read more

($23, Vineyard Brands):  The 2009 vintage was excellent in the Loire Valley, as it was in much of France.  And this wine shows it.  With many a Sancerre today coming across as dilute and lacking the unique character of the appellation, it’s a real pleasure to taste Delaporte’s. … Read more

($20, Michael Skurnik Wines):  Although a less well-known Loire appellation, Quincy wines are popular around Boston because of the suburb of the same name (but a different pronunciation  (the wine is pronounced, “cahn-see”).  This is a lively and intense expression of crisp and slightly earthy Sauvignon Blanc with a captivating floral component. … Read more

($10, Pasternak Wine Imports):  With clear Sauvignon Blanc character, this wine falls somewhere between the riper style common in California and the electrifying signature of the ones coming from the Marlborough region of New Zealand.  Although it lacks the chalky minerality–and the price–of Saget’s Sancerre (also reviewed this week), it’s a good choice as a vibrant everyday kind of wine to complement take-out Thai food.… Read more

($14, Vineyard Brands):  This aromatic wine is bracing and refreshing, as Muscadet should be, but delivers far more substance and weight than most.  There’s almost a touch of salinity, but the most distinctive aspect is the wines density and complexity, which likely reflects the old vines. … Read more

($20, Simon N Cellars):  I can now add Dominique and Janine to the list of Crochets who make distinctive Sancerre having found this one on a restaurant wine list in Richmond.  With so many wines from Sancerre tasting more like simple Sauvignon Blanc, it’s always a treat to discover a producer’s whose bottling delivers the chalky minerality for which the appellation is known. … Read more

($41, Premium Wine Co.):  Les Monts Damnes (literally, damned mountains), so named because of the steepness of the slope, is one of the best sites in Sancerre and would be categorized as Grand Cru if that system existed in the appellation. … Read more

($13, Fruit of the Vine):  Quincy is a tiny (400-acre) appellation west of Sancerre where regulations mandate Sauvignon Blanc for white wines just as in Sancerre.  This wine speaks more of the grape with zesty citrus flavors than underlying minerality, but it is easy to recommend with raw or simply prepared seafood, especially at this bargain price.… Read more

($20, Jean-Marie Dechamps):  Despite the fume in its name, I don’t find smokey notes consistently in wines from Pouilly-Fumé.  Benoît Roumet, the director of Les Vins du Centre Loire, says he often has difficulty distinguishing wines from Pouilly-Fumé from its across the river town of Sancerre since the soil in many spots on both sides of the river is similar. … Read more

($16, Jon-David Headrick Selections):  This is the kind of wine that consumers are always searching for: one that over delivers for its appellation.  The Touraine appellation pales in prestige to ones like Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé, but, like wines from those areas, this wine delivers the appealing grapefruit-like bite of Sauvignon Blanc. … Read more

($20, VOS Selections):  Benoît Roumet, the director of Les Vins du Centre Loire, notes that it’s sometimes difficult to distinguish wines from adjoining appellations in the Loire because of overlapping and similar soils.  That observation explains why wines from Ménétou-Salon, a small–just over 1,000 acres, not even a fifth the size of Sancerre–and less prestigious appellation, are a good alternative to Sancerre, especially when made by a talented producer such as this one. … Read more

($18, Jon David Headrick Selections):  Despite focusing the on the same grape, Cabernet Franc, the wines from the appellation of St. Nicolas de Bourgueil are typically lighter than those from the neighboring appellation of Bourgueil because of the soil, which contains more sand rather than clay and limestone. … Read more

($53, Daniel Johnnes Selections/Michael Skurnick Wines):  Domaine FL is a domaine established within the last decade with the acquisition of most of the vineyards of the well-established grower and producer, Jo Pithon, by Philippe Fournier, head of the French telecommunication company, Afone. … Read more

($13, Skurnik):  As a seafood lover, I personally am pleased to see that the prices of Muscadet have risen far slower than their quality.  Sure, there are plenty of insipid, hollow Muscadets on the market, but when you find a stellar one like this one from Domaine de Herbauges, you can’t help but wonder why they’re not more expensive. … Read more

($18, Daniel Johnnes Selections/Michael Skurnick Wines):  This Anjou Blanc shows another expression of the Chenin Blanc grape that is completely different from the domaine’s excellent and distinctive Savennières Roche aux Moines (also reviewed this week).  Le Chenin has the more typical profile of a wine made entirely from Chenin Blanc. … Read more

($33, Pasternak Wine Imports): With an engaging counterpoint of creaminess to the pungency of Sauvignon Blanc, this Pouilly-Fumé is beautifully refined and balanced.   The classy creaminess does not come from oak because the wine is fermented and aged entirely in stainless steel vats. … Read more

($43, Vineyard Brands): Made from Sauvignon Blanc vines that are more than 50 years old, this is a great Sancerre, with complexity that comes only from old vines. Fermented and aged in older oak barrels, you feel–not taste–the wood’s effect.  This is not just Sauvignon Blanc; this is Sauvignon Blanc planted in Sancerre with the slightly chalky and earthy flavors unique to that locale. … Read more

($35, Cynthia Hurley French Wines): Couly-Dutheil is among the top–if not the top–producer of Chinon.  And although he has a more expensive bottling, their Clos de l’Echo is always my favorite of his offerings.  This single vineyard wine from a south-facing rocky slope takes its name from the echo generated between it and the château in Chinon.… Read more

($11, Vineyard Brands):  The Fournier family owns three domaines in and around Sancerre, in the heart of the Loire Valley, and is one of that region’s leading producers.  In addition to their excellent appellation controllée Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, they produce this bright and lively Sauvignon Blanc, the same grape used in those two appellations. … Read more

($25, Vineyard Brands):  Many Sancerre these days lack distinctiveness and taste more like simple Sauvignon Blanc.  Not this one, which shows why the vineyards around the tiny town of Sancerre on the Loire River have such a good reputation.  Sure, it has the bright zesty verve of Sauvignon Blanc, but it’s real Sancerre, with layers of chalky minerality–even a smoky flinty element–and depth.… Read more

($25, Cynthia Hurley French Wines):  Couly-Dutheil is arguably Chinon’s best producer and they show their talents again with this rare Chinon white (at least 95% of Chinon is red).  A marvelous example of Chenin Blanc, it is more mineral–with chalky nuances–and less floral than Vouvray. … Read more

($44, Boutique Wine Collection): Pouilly sur Loire, home to Pouilly-Fumé, sits just across the Loire River from Sancerre and, like that town, allows producers to use only Sauvignon Blanc for its wines.  Despite the similar location and grape, Mellot’s Pouilly-Fumé’s stony, lean, laser-like edginess is very different from the chalky earthy notes found in his Sancerre (reviewed previously). … Read more

($75, Boutique Wine Collection): Sancerre is a special place because Sauvignon Blanc planted here can have a unique flavor profile, unlike the taste of wines made from Sauvignon Blanc planted elsewhere.  Sadly, these days as Sancerre has grown in popularity too many of its wines have lost their distinctiveness. … Read more

($27, Boutique Wine Collection): Most rosés are a by-product of the technique, saignée, used to bolster red wines.  The distinctive rosés, such as this one, are the ones in which the producer sets out to make a rosé.  And there is no better producer in Sancerre than Alphonse Mellot. … Read more

($81, Louis Dressner Selections): This superb wine will quash any doubts that Cabernet Franc is a noble and great grape.  Although there is no official classification of Saumur-Champigny vineyards, Les Poyeux, a single vineyard, is considered one of the area’s best. … Read more

($112, Louis Dressner Selections): You read the price correctly.  More than $100 a bottle for–of all things–a wine made from Cabernet Franc grown in Saumur-Champigny, not exactly France’s most famous viticultural area.  But what an outstanding wine!  Clos Rougeard is considered by most locals to be the area’s best producer. … Read more

($28, Kermit Lynch): Château d’Epiré is one the leading properties in Savennières, a tiny (300-acre) appellation just west of Angers that produces the world’s best dry Chenin Blanc.  This ‘Cuvée Especiale’ is bottled without filtration exclusively for Kermit Lynch.  The wine, always reticent when young, is vigorous and bright. … Read more

($25, Kermit Lynch): Despite its popularity in France, Chinon is an often-overlooked area by US consumers.  True, the Cabernet Franc grape, the mainstay of the reds (since 2001 up to 25% Cabernet Sauvignon can be included) can produce vegetal wine if not ripened properly. … Read more

($50, Kermit Lynch): This wine from one of Chinon’s best plots, a south-facing steeply slope vineyard, is an example of a Chinon to put in the cellar, in contrast to Joguet ‘Les Petites Roches’ cuvée (also reviewed this week).  You can already sense the layers of flavors ready to spring out of this tightly wound wine. … Read more

($26, Wildman): It seems that as Sancerre continues to grow in popularity, more of them reflect the varietal, Sauvignon Blanc, than the chalky minerality for which the appellation is rightly known.  Thankfully, Jolivet manages to capture the uniqueness of the area with this wine’s mélange of herbaceous pungency underpinned by the classical chalkiness that defines Sancerre. … Read more

($10, Vineyard Brands): Muscadet is known for its racy acidity-there’s no shortage here-but what sets this wine apart is its minerality and texture that persists into the finish.  It has more body than the typical Muscadet.  Not a friendly ‘sipping’ wine, it’s perfect with steamed shellfish dipped in butter.… Read more

($25, Kobrand): Redde has captured the chalky minerality characteristic of Sauvignon Blanc grown in Sancerre with this wine.  While there’s none of the pungent herbaceousness often seen with Sauvignon Blanc grown in the New World, there’s still plenty of vibrancy. It’s spicy and cutting without being shrill.… Read more

($26, Wildman): Jolivet owns about 70 acres of vines split evenly between the neighboring wine regions, Pouilly-Fumé and Sancerre, that face one another across the Loire Valley.  Made entirely from Sauvignon Blanc, his 2005 Pouilly-Fumé shows the minerality and verve of the region, and shines because the flavors are not distorted by barrel fermentation or aging. … Read more

($20, ExCellars): Savennières, a small appellation just down the Loire River from Vouvray, is another example in of why location matters. The grape, Chenin Blanc, is the same as in Vouvray, but here it is planted on slate or schist whereas in Vouvray the soil is mostly chalky. … Read more

($17, Kermit Lynch): Sparkling wines from the Loire Valley, usually made from Chenin Blanc, are less ‘serious’ than Champagne.  But sometimes lively, less weighty fizz is just what you want.  The major problem with bubbly from the Loire is that many are harsh and acidic. … Read more

($12, Robert Kacher Selections): The most distinctive wines from Muscadet, a large area at the western end of the Loire River where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean, come from the Sèvre et Maine sub region.  The Sur Lie designation means that the wine ages on the spent yeast lees for a brief period which adds complexity (and, most importantly, keeps the wine fresh because the yeast act as an antioxidant protecting the wine). … Read more

($15, Louis Dressner Selections): This classic Sancerre delivers a balanced combination of minerals and herbs enlivened with refreshing acidity. 89 Michael Apstein Oct 31, 2006… Read more

($20, Ex Cellars): Anyone who believes that Chenin Blanc makes only insipid dry wine has never tasted Baumard’s Savennières. The 2002 has a magical combination of honey-like ripeness (without being sweet) intertwined with an alluring minerality. A versatile wine with food, it is ideal with flavorful Asian fare.… Read more

($60, Ex Cellars): A glorious wine, this is rich with ripe pear and honey flavors, but it also shows a captivating delicacy. The sweetness is balanced perfectly by focused acidity, providing a striking combination of richness and elegance. This is a must for your cellar.… Read more

($10, W.J. Deutsch & Sons): I’m not a fan of most 2003 white wines from Europe because the scorching summer robbed them of acidity. But it’s hard to kill the acid in the Melon de Bourgogne, the grape from which Muscadet is made.… Read more