French Wine

Our Professional Review

Bart Hopkins writes:  One of our favorite recommendations for the past three years, Gerard Boulay Sancerre Rose is made of 100% Pinot Noir and is certain to make your mouth water!  The wine is balanced between juicyness and acidity, with obvious red berry notes.  Boulay’s Sibylle Rose is made from mature 35 to 40+ year old vines, in the village of Chavignol, where many believe the best Sancerre is made.  - 67Wine Buyer

Winemaker Notes

Unlike many Sancerre Roses, Gerard harvests his Pinot specifically to make rose by direct press, then into tank. It is not a selection of young vines as he has no young Pinot vines. What makes the rosé one year could make red another, and vice versa, depending on what the vintage gives. 

Varietals: Pinot Noir. Organic: Practicing. Vineyard: From 35-40 year old Pinot Noir vines on the steep hillsides in front of the Boulay home in Chavignol. Orientation: Multiple parcels, varied exposure. Soil: Steep clay hillside. Viticulture: Gerard works the soil manually and lets nature make the wine. Vinification: Tank fermented. Boulay adds no yeast and minimal amounts of SO2. Aging: Tank aged. Production: 200 cases annually.

Critic Notes

Antonio Galloni writes:  The 2023 Rosé Sibylle is redolent with crushed berry fruit, rosewater, spice, mint and orange peel. Sensual and layered in the glass, the 2023 possesses lovely textural resonance to play off its effusive aromatics. It’s a gorgeous wine from Gerard Boulay.  Drinking 2024 - 2026.  - Vinous 90

Bart Hopkins writes:  A classic mineral driven Sancerre with a lovely bouquet of freshly squeezed lime, lemon zest, gooseberry and peach blossom with a pleasant grassy note. Crisp and lively in the mouth, deliciously refreshing,  with excellent precision and energetic focus on the finish.  - 67Wine Buyer

Concours des Ligers - The bright pale yellow color opens on an expressive and attractive nose that associates the smells of citrus with those of exotic fruits (passion), with a hint of banana. The mouth with a lively attack offers a fleshy matter, "fat", a beautiful balance between freshness and roundness, as well as fruity aromas (lychee) that persist in a fine and gourmet finish. Beautiful Sancerre.  - Concours des Ligers Silver Medal 

Winemaker Notes

Domaine Olivier Foucher is a small, 10 hectare farm located along the slopes of the town of Morogues in the Menetou-Salon appellation of the Loire Valley. Olivier created the estate in 1992 and grows Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc, making wines that are incredibly complex and at the same time dangerously drinkable. Menetou-Salon is an appellation located directly west of Sancerre. While the wines of Sancerre are more well known (and consequently more expensive), the wines of Menetou provide as good quality at a better price. The terroir in this region is laden with the limestone-rich, calcareous soils from millions of years ago, leftover from when the region was under sea; it is quite similar to the terroir of Chablis Grand Crus. 

The Domaine Olivier Foucher Menetou-Salon is spectacularly fine and polished. This 100% Sauvignon Blanc is always beautifully represented here at the shop and the superior quality is consistent with each new vintage. Light lemon in color, the wine has a delicate floral scent, with a touch of lime zest and tangerine on the nose. The palate is full of white-fleshed fruits — particularly peach and pear — that blend with more exotic, softer notes of grapefruit and papaya.

Wave after wave of mouth-puckering acidity and a mineral-packed finish will keep you coming back for more! Perhaps the most impressive feature of the wine is its impeccable balance of flavor intensity, structural tension and length: everything is where it should be, making this Sauvignon Blanc almost too easy to drink. This is an exceptional seafood wine — think oysters, scallops, smoked trout, shellfish — but it is also perfect for a salad of fresh greens with apples, goat cheese and walnuts.

For Pierre Chainier, the Loire was a case of love at first sight, with its vineyards and fresh, fruity wines: so easy to drink either young or venerably old: like the 1893 Vouvrays, still in perfect condition today. Today, the Maison Pierre Chainier is still a family business, based in Amboise, a royal town built on the banks of the River Loire. They are a family of wine merchants, specializing in Touraine wines. With average production of approximately 6 millions bottles. The Vouvray vineyards are situated upstream from Tours in the North of the Loire valley. Vines are planted on clay limestone and clay siliceous grounds on the chalky “Tuffeau” soil. The vines roots overhang the cellars built in the rock nearby the houses called “Troglodytes”. The ripe grapes are handpicked during October. Some of the grapes have noble rot also known as botrytis which concentrates the sugar in the grapes. The wines ferment very slowly over a month. 

Produced from 100% Chenin Blanc This off-dry wine gives a sweet sensation with a dry finish on the palate. A concentration of rich flavors develops fruity aromas such as orange peel, honey and ripe quince. It has a great long finish with a slight honey taste. Delicious! 

Winemaker Description

La Moussière is the estate's flagship cuvee, its richness, energy and precision defining the Alphonse Mellot style. This 100% Sauvignon white wine has a floral and fruity nose combining white flowers with citrus fruits, a resplendent golden robe with glints of green, and a lively, refreshing palate. Fish tartare, smoked salmon or girolle mushroom omelette will go perfectly with La Moussière's freshness and purity.

Winemaker Description

Pascal Balland cultivates 22 acres of vines around the famed center of Sancerre wine production in the village of Bué in France's Loire Valley. Pascal Balland’s Sancerre wine has all the characteristics you can expect from a Sancerre: lemony, dry, mineral, aromatic, and lively. Pair with fish, shellfish, or cheese such as Chèvre. Winemaker Description. 

Domaine Octavie Touraine is an authentic and expressive Loire Valley Sauvignon. Citrus fruits combine with white flowers, while aromas of gunstone give it relief. On the palate, it is a soft and fresh wine. The attack is frank and chiselled, well balanced. Notes of white peach. Winemaker Description. 

Our Professional Review

Bart Hopkins 67Wine.com | A delicious Sauvignon Blanc with an unmistakeable Loire Valley personality. On the nose, beautiful aromas of pink grapefruit, white peaches, ginger snap and peach blossoms. Delicate in the mouth yet harmonious and invigorating  with lovely complexity, freshness and perfectly complimented acidity on the lively finish.

Winemaker Description 

Color is Yellow Gold. Great aromatic intensity of quince and vanilla. Rich, well structured, with quince and stewed fruit flavours. Complexity linked to a good concentration. Very nice length in the mouth.

Winemaker Description

Bright yellow color, bouquet of white and yellow fruits mixed with citrus fruits. Well-balanced on the palate, undertones of mature fruitiness; juicy sauvignon grape finish.

Best as an aperitif, or with fish, shellfish, Asian or Lebanese cuisines and, more traditionally, crottin de Chavignol goats cheese.

Expert Review

John Gilman 96 Points | This is my first taste of Domaine des Closiers top bottling, les Trezellières, which is made from a parcel of old vines and given fully two years aging in barrel, with somewhere between ten and twenty percent of the casks new. The 2019 les Trezellières is beautifully deep and refined aromatically, delivering scents of black cherries, cassis, Cuban cigar wrapper, a very complex base of soil, a touch of Cheval Blanc-like menthol, a gentle dollop of tree bark, cedar and a topnote of cigar smoke. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, elegant and rock solid at the core, with great focus and complex, superb soil undertow, fine-grained tannins and a very long, pure and classy finish.

The small percentage of new oak gives this wine more refinement than the les Coudraies bottling, but because it is no more than twenty percent new oak, the wood influence is far more subtle out of the blocks than in Clos Rougeard’s Le Bourg bottling, which is the closest comparison I can think of for this brilliant young Saumur Champigny. Give this beautiful wine plenty of time in the cellar to properly resolve its tannins and completely blossom! (2019). 

Citrus and green apples fill the glass with herbal complexity and detailed minerality. A great alternative to pricier Sancerre and perfect with all types of seafood.
Bart Hopkins

Winemaker Description 

Lively and intense, this Sancerre is dry and classic in style with aromas and flavors of peaches, green apples, gooseberries and quince with a backbone of stony minerality. Perfectly balanced acidity makes this a perfect pairing to grilled fish, poultry and vegetable based dishes.

Winemaker Description 

Domaine Jean-Paul Balland Sancerre 2023 presents a brilliant pale straw color with green highlights. On the nose, it exudes vibrant aromas of citrus fruits, green apple, and white flowers, interwoven with subtle mineral notes. The palate is lively and refreshing, featuring flavors of lemon zest, grapefruit, and ripe pear, complemented by a crisp acidity and a lingering, mineral-driven finish.

Expert Review

Decanter 89 Points | Pretty nose of pear drop, lemon and white blossom; apple and citrus on the palate. (Bronze) - DWWA 2024

Producer Description 

From the warm (even by today’s standards) 2019 growing season comes this masterful Vouvray Extra-Brut, which spent four full years on its lees, and to which Philippe and Vincent applied a mere 1.33 grams-per-liter dosage—their lowest ever.

Philippe prefers a small dosage to none, as he states that it improves the wine’s capacity to age, and he and Vincent employ rigorous double-blind dosage trials to determine the final amount.

With its low-for-Vouvray acidity and its full malolactic fermentation (rare for Foreau), this wine benefits from its modest dosage, as it maintains taut acidity and clings mightily to the palate as its notes of truffle, candied lemon, and lanolin echo far into the distance.

Producer Description 

Refreshing persistence, resinous herbal notes on the nose and lovely fresh pear fruit, lime zest, grapefruit pith, and pineapple on the palate. 

The grapes for this basic cuvée of Sancerre are sourced from the vineyards in Bué, Vinon and Crézancy. After harvest, fermentation is done in stainless steel cuves at temperatures between 14 and 18 degrees Celsius. 

As with all the whites at the domaine, this wine sits in contact with the fine lies for a considerable period of time with the racking being done late in the spring following harvest. The first bottling occurs no earlier than July and frequently does not occur until September of the year following harvest.

Producer Description 

Robe: Beautiful and very intense ruby color. Nose: The nose releases lovely nuances of mint, red berry liqueur, and even star anise with the addition of spicy aromas (vanilla, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper).

Body: The attack is straightforward and strong on the palate, immediately suggesting the full potential of a great terroir.

Its intense fruitiness seems imposing, while the acidity traces the substance’s contours without being ostentatious, guaranteeing the aromatic identity of the flavors. The alcohol is enrobed and structures the substance in its verticality.

The finish transcends by its sharpness and richness.

Winemaker Description

Bright and fresh, with signature limestone minerality and bright acidity all wrapped around a core of lemon citrus notes. This wine is ideal paired with fish, shellfish or goat cheese, or as an aperitif.

This Sancerre Blanc was formally called Sancerre "Côtes des Embouffants".  Brothers Éric and Jean-Philippe Neveu produce a fresh-cut-grass-and-citrus-inflected Sauvignon Blanc of incredible precision from this site. They ferment and age it only in tank and rack by gravity to preserve all the juicy, sun-ripened fruit and lively mineral snap conferred by this steep, limestone-covered hillside. Luminous gold in color, the bouquet offers fresh lively citrus aromas as well as a touch of white flowers. Generously perfumed and incredibly refreshing. 

Winemaker Description

The name of this cuvée "ES-56" stands for Eocene Flint 56 million years ago. The "ES-56" white Sancerre offers incomparable balance and concentration. Its nose, with notes of gun flint and spices, is also reminiscent of Sauvignon flower and its sap. A proud, intense cuvée that will reveal all its elegance and finesse over the years.

ES-56 white Sancerre offers elegance and freshness that will match perfectly with white meats and poultry.

Expert Rating

93 Points James Suckling | A solid, precise and lively Sancerre with so much mineral character. Aromas of leaves, flint, gunpowder, mild spices and dried lemons dominate on the nose. It’s medium-bodied yet so intense, full of verve and drive. There is a bright acidity driving the vertical dimension in the long, focused, stony finish. (2022). 

Winemaker Description

The Millet family founded “La Gemière” in 1981 on the slopes of the Loire
Valley. Since 2000, heirs Sébastien and Nicolas have carried on the tradition
of working their 19-hectare vineyard with a profound respect for the terroir.
The pebbly terrain called “La Caillote” is composed of clay, limestone, white
soil “Terres Blanches,” and red earth “Terres Rouges.”

As soon as the grapes are harvested, they are pressed and juices flow by
gravity into tanks. Must is racked 48 hours later, then preserved at low
temperatures for 4 to 7 days before fermentation. Thermo regulated alcoholic
fermentation. Lees aging 8-9 months.

Pronounced aromas of gooseberry, fresh grass, and ripe quince. Crisp and
refreshing on the palate, with notes of melon and citrus.

Perfect wine as an aperitif, or paired with shellfish, salads, seafood, and mild
cheeses.

Expert Reviews 

92 Points Vinous | The 2022 Le Haut-Lieu Sec is a lithe, reductive style with floral character and talcum powder. Full of phenolic, lip-smacking texture woven through its core, lending a sense of satisfying grunt to this dry yet balanced style. Clarity, precision and harmony are keywords in this wine's execution. A little more fleeting on the finish than ideal. (5.5g/L).

The original Huët vineyard is nearly 9 hA. It has the richest soils of the domaine’s three crus - a deep limestone-clay - and the wines are generally the estate’s most approachable. In some vintages, small quantities from nearby estate parcels may be added to Le Haut-Lieu. Winemaker Description.

94 Points Wine Spectator | A very expressive, rich and inviting wine, with an enticing mix of juicy lemon, yellow apple and honeysuckle flavors flecked with dried thyme, brioche and chamomile tea. Shows a lot of stuffing, with vivid acidity and chalky tannins providing a framework for the density, extending through the quinine-laced finish.

Le Mont wines are often the estate's most reticent, but develop the strongest perfume with age. Mineral-driven with a crystalline purity, this is the precision we've come to rely on with Le Mont. Winemaker Description. 

Winemaker Description

Romain Guiberteau is a protégé of Clos Rougeard, one of France's most innovative and sought after wineries. Run by Nady Foucault and his late brother Charly, Clos Rougeard helped redefine the Saumur region - specifically Brézé - through biodynamic farming methods and a low intervention mindset.

It was this philosophy, and attention to detail, that Romain Guiberteau applied to his own Domaine in 1996. Since then, his wines have skyrocketed to a similar level of acclaim to Clos Rougeard and deservedly so. 

Energetic and lively with lifted red fruit complexity complimented with earthy spice and refreshing acidity. A wine of purity and harmony providing excellent drinking pleasure. 

Winemaker Description

Chateau de Chaintres Saumur-Champigny Les Sables is garnet with purple reflections. Fresh red fruits on the nose. A fruity and spicy attack on the palate. The mouth is supple with a mineral and elegant finish. 

Malbec in the Loire Valley is called Cot as it is in Cahor.  This is an inky dark wine that is dense, mouthfilling, with black fruit, raspberry, pepper, and rustic flavors.  This big red calls out barbecue!  We heartily recommend this special wine that rarely comes to the U.S.

Winemaker Notes

The nose on the powerfully built organic Malbec offers notes sweet and sour cherry, fresh blackberry, and country herbs. Concentrated and intense, presenting a silky texture and an elegant finish. A gorgeous Malbec from the banks of the Loire river. 

Le Berceau de Fees" by Domaine Aux Moines is a lovely and juicy Chenin Blanc from young vineyards of famous Roche-aux-Moines grand cru. It opens on the nose to clean and straight aromas of fruit, flowers and aromatic herbs, surrounded by sharp saltiness. The sip is fresh and direct, animated by great acid shoulder and long mineral persistence. Winemaker Description. 

The delicate and complex olfactory expression opens on aromas which remind of white flower, exotic fruits. There is a very beautiful complexity for a vintage where the end-of-season’s sun brought a lot to the aromas. Excellent complexity that translates into great and elegant richness. Nice attack, straight and bright, it takes place with elegance on fruity notes associated with a dense structure and a beautiful acidity which brings a great length in the end of the mouth. There are aromas of exotic fruits (litchi, mango).

Purchased by the Comte Lafond, an ancestor of the current owner, Baron Patrick de Ladoucette, Château du Nozet and its surrounding vineyards have a reputation for producing the finest Pouilly-Fumé. The vineyards are in Pouilly-Fumé Contrôlée, which includes Pouilly-sur-Loire, Saint-Andelain and Tracy-sur-Loire at the eastern end of the Loire Valley (including the vineyard of the Château du Nozet estate).

Both clay and limestone influence the delicate characteristics in Ladoucette Baron de L Pouilly-Fumé. This Grande Cuvée of Pouilly Fumé is produced exclusively in the best years and from the first pressing of the estate’s grapes. Winemaker Description.