The Loire Valley is known as the cradle of the French language, as well as Le Jardin de la France, the Garden of France. The landscape of low hills is punctuated by grand châteaux of the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, all connected by the slow-moving waterway that stretches into the heart of the country.
Two thousand years of continuous viticulture has helped forge this reputation, but so has a region-wide effort to embrace sustainable viticulture and terroir-centric winemaking. Today, 30% of the valley’s vineyards are either farmed sustainably or organically—a figure that increases each year. This forward-thinking ethos has secured acclaim for present-day vintages, but more importantly, promises a bright future for the Loire’s wine industry.
While the region is France’s third largest wine-producing region by volume (and the largest for AOC-based white wine), the Loire Valley manages to provide incredible focus, consistency, and quality. Sommeliers and wine buyers have come to depend on the region’s 51 official appellations for a variety of refreshing sparkling wines, crystalline whites, playful rosés, profound reds, and long-lived sweet wines often tinged with noble rot.
Brazilier Chenin Blanc 2023 $16 - 100% Chenin Blanc grown in the Coteaux du Venomois. Round and delicious, showing notes of white peach, almond, ripe pear.
Lame Delisle Boucard Bourgueil Vieilles Vignes 2021 $16 - Lamé-Delisle-Boucard’s “Vieilles Vignes” is pure Cabernet Franc exclusively from vines over 40 years of age in the commune of Ingrandes de Touraine—part from the sandy gravel terraces of the lieu-dit Louys, and part from hillside plantings in the clay-limestone of Mont Sigou.
Angélique Léon. Savigny-en-Véron, Chinon Rouge, AOC Chinon 2021 $19 - Angélique Leon moved to Savigny-en-Véron, in the Loire Valley, taking over her parents’ domain in 2002. She is basically a one women operation working the vines, harvesting and vinifying the wines in the cellar. The Estate is made up of 7 hectares of vines producing mainly red wines and a small quantity of rosé (5%). The single grape variety used is Cabernet Franc, average age of the vines is 30- 40 years old.
Domaine de la Pepiere "La Pepie" Cot 2023 $19 - This red country wine is produced on the slopes of the Pépière. These hillsides are exposed to the southwest on granite slopes where the rock (Clisson GRANITE) is flush in many places. 100% Côt.
Bernard Baudry, Chinon "Les Granges" 2023 $22 - From 35 to 40 year-old vines on gravel and sandy soils with a bit of clay near the Vienne river in organic agriculture. Hand harvested, fermented with wild yeasts, ages for 8 to 10 months in cement vats, minimal addition of SO2 only prior to bottling. This "basic" cuvée from Bernard and Matthieu Baudry has gotten more and more "serious" as the vines age, giving a wine that is delightful to drink young.
Bonus
Anne-Cécile Jadaud Vouvray Vouvray Sec Les Grives Soûles 2021 $27 - Anne-Cécile Jadaud and Tanguy Perrault work around eight hectares of organically-farmed vines spread across 15 small parcels near their home and winery in Chançay, in the northeastern portion of Vouvray. This dry iteration of Vouvray is named for the thrushes ('Les Grives') who get drunk ('Soûles') by eating ripe berries around harvest that have already begun to ferment slightly inside the grape.
Domaine Denizot,“Osmoze” Blanc, Sancerre 2023 $32 - In the heart of France's Loire Valley lies a lesser-known winery producing exceptional wines with a rich history and a promising future. Domaine Denizot, run by the passionate husband and wife team of Thibauld and Jennifer Denizot, has been crafting elegant and nuanced wines for six generations. 100% Sauvignon Blanc. This is one of the best Sancerres I've tasted in recent memory.
Domaine Denizot, Sancerre Rouge 2022 $39 - 100% Pinot Noir. This elegant expression of Pinot Noir showcases notes of fresh red fruit with some black pepper on the finish.
