French Wine

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2023 

Kristen Bieler writes:  For a demi-sec, this leans toward the dry, savory end of the spectrum. There are a lot of layers and substance to this, with a savory thread of green herbs and bitter white tea weaving through elderflower, quince and apple flavors, while gentle tannins provide a solid frame. Cool river stone and pink peppercorn notes line the finish, encased in smoke and salt, with length and a lot of depth. The toasty cedar notes will integrate with more time in bottle. Drink now through 2037. 740 cases made.  - Wine Spectator 93

Stuart Pigott Writes:  This off-dry Vouvray has terrific depth and a lovely creaminess that’s hard to resist, but it’s tightly wound and needs some time for the aromas to unfurl. With some aeration, red apple and honeysuckle notes emerge. Long, very clean finish that’s pretty dry thanks to the bright acidity. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold.  - James Suckling 93

Rebecca Gibb MW writes:  The 2023 Vouvray Demi-Sec Le Mont boasts a residual sweetness (20g/l) that brings a sense of tenderness and amplitude to a terroir that's big on precision and tension. The flint component in the soil and the natural freshness of the 2023 vintage provide persistence and momentum. Pure and tender, there’s a distinctive spearmint-like cooling sensation on the long finish.  Drinking 2024 to 2038.  - Vinous 94

Producer Description 

A nectar from one end of the tasting to the other! An intensely golden adornment, a nose of perfectly over-ripe Chenin, underlined by great elegance, a note of almond cream, quince, very ripe peach skin.

The palate is very straight, freshness, tension and sweetness so well integrated, a finish of candy sugar crystals but also the fine bitterness of the schists, it is a very beautiful vintage, a wine built to last and already so pleasant to taste now. It is the cuvée representative of the estate's terroir, i.e. almost five vines.

Winemaker Description 

Historically blended with Gamay and other grapes in Touraine, this wine shows you the pure expression of a Loire Pinot Noir. Slightly more colored and generous on the palate than his famous cousin from Burgundy, this wine will express a bright, floral, spicy and cherry note that will be delightful for a relaxing evening.

Memo Summary Notes

The Nicolas Idiart Touraine Pinot Noir 2023 comes from the central Loire Valley, where Pinot Noir expresses itself with wonderful freshness and bright fruit.

This style of Pinot Noir is incredibly versatile. It pairs well with light dishes like:

• White Meats: Roasted chicken or turkey.

• Charcuterie/Cheese: Especially goat cheese (like local Selles-sur-Cher).

• Fish: Meaty or oily fish like salmon or tuna (it can be served slightly chilled).

  
  

   

Expert Review

Vinous | A savory, structured, dry Vouvray. There's restrained fruit, all baked apple pastries, citrus and baking spices in the 2019 Grosse Pierre. A firm thread of acidity and flint-derived tension course through the core and continue long after you've tasted the wine, giving structure and purpose. Slight warmth from the 14% alcohol, but it does not detract from the overall balance and the satisfying sinewy nature of this wine.

Memo Summary Notes

• Aromas: Notes of orchard fruits (apple, pear, white peach), citrus zest, and white flowers, with an underlying flinty or "smoky" minerality.

• Palate: Taut and crystalline; features vibrant acidity, tart apple, and quince flavors.

• Finish: Long, refreshing, and zippy with a distinct chalky or saline mineral edge.

• Food Pairings: Pairs exceptionally well with fresh shellfish (oysters), grilled white fish with lemon, goat cheese (Valençay or Selles-sur-Cher), and roasted poultry.

Winemaker Description

• Practicing organic
• 100% Chenin Blanc
• South exposure
• Clay and silex soil
• 45+ year old vines
• Indigenous yeast
• No malo
• Aged in large older barrel

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2017

Decanter 91 Points | A sense of minerality with gunflint on the nose, almost a tertiary character, giving the impression of a cooler vintage. The palate is quite backward, and the fruit purity has not really come out to the extent of the 2018, so this is much less revealing. 

Vinous 90 Points | The 2017 Le Clos is a blend of 15 sites across five hectares. It is a richly fragrant, brooding style, with lots of complex layers. Light on its feet, its compact core is rich with texture, and its flavors linger long. There's a meaty edge, olives, dried herbs and a rather drying conclusion, which is a bit suspect and leaves a question mark for its future longevity. 

Jancis Robinson 18/20 Points  | This is worth every penny of its price tag. It has a hushed intensity. It’s mellow, fitting into itself like an old library: dust and shelves, polished coppery red wood and the smell of a warm fireplace. Parchment and pages and ink and leather-bound books. It's sweet and smoky, concentration and power pulsing through the fruit in waves. Damsons, cloves and tobacco-smoke tendrils, cigars. The tannins fan fine and fragrant, across and through, a plethora but in exquisite restraint. This is a real beauty. One of the best wines of the tasting. 

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Vinous 95 Points | The 2019 Clos de la Dioterie is a sophisticated, seductively perfumed style—brooding yet aromatic. Its concentrated flavors are pure; it remains light and elegant, with a delectable, chalky, veil-like texture residing on your tongue as the finish draws out with precision, sinew and line. This is a fine, texturally intriguing wine.

Winemaker Description 

Grape varietal : Melon de Bourgogne. Vine age : 40 years. Farming : Ecological Farming. Vinification : Méthode traditionnelle. After initial fermentation in underground cement tanks, the wine undergoes a secondary fermentation in bottle and is aged on the lees for 9 months.

The House of Chéreau Carré occupies the most privileged position in the Loire-Atlantique department of France. This family-owned property dates back to the 15th century. The vines here are some of the most prized in the region of the Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine.

The property is managed by Bernard Chéreau, whose family origins span back to the eleventh century. Bernard’s passion for Melon de Bourgogne is evident in the quality of his wines.

Our Professional Notes

Oscar Garcia Moncada, 67 Wine Buyer, writes:  On the nose, you’ll encounter an enticing bouquet of wild red berries—raspberries, strawberries, and red currants. The palate continues the red berry theme, delivering a tangy, fruit-forward experience complemented by a delightful saline minerality that adds complexity. The finish is crisp and dry, with a bright, natural acidity that makes this wine a fantastic choice as an aperitif or a versatile companion to food. 

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2018

Benujamin Lewin, MW of Decanter writes 95 Points | Great sense of fruit purity on the nose, showing a mélange of black fruits. This shows brilliance on the palate, it’s very flavourful, with almost savoury undertones lingering on a very long finish. A sensation of gunflint shows retronasally. This is a rare combination: the height of elegance combined with depth. Drinking Window: 2032-2052.

La Revue du Vin de France writes 94 Points | As for Le Bourg, it remains faithful to the generously toasted and hedonistic expression of its barrel ageing. A concentrated material, a sensation of sweetness and power accompany the salient tannic framework that the years will soften. 

Winemaker Description 

Clos Rougeard was created in 1664 on the land of Chacé, a village not far from Saumur. Eight generations have succeeded one another at the head of the estate, the most recent being the Foucault brothers. From the 1980s onwards, Charly and Nady adopted a singular philosophy to enhance the terroirs of Saumur and Saumur-Champigny: leave the wine in peace so it can expresses its own identity. No synthetic products are added to the vines, gentle vinifications are thought out like infusions and minimalist approach is claimed. In 2017, the Bouygues family bought the estate and has continued the work begun by their emblematic predecessors with a deep respect for the DNA of the winery and its identity. Today the estate has found its balance thanks to a passionate team who strives to preserve the excellence and uniqueness of the wines whose depth, finesse and precision are unparalleled.

Located in the heart of the village of Chacé, Le Bourg is composed of very old vines and lies on a predominantly limestone terroir on shallow clay loam, typical of the Saumur-Champigny appellation. This wine reveals riper, fleshier fruit and a dense, full-bodied texture. Le Bourg is from vines averaging 80 years old, planted on a thin layer of clay over a deep bed of tuffeau, also in Chacé. The combination of vine age and richer soil makes this the most powerfully structured wine in Clos Rougeard’s array.

Winemaker Description 

Clear pale yellow colour. Delicate nose combining fresh grapes with elegant mineral tones. Equally dynamic on the palate, with a clear emphasis on freshness and aromatic clarity. The slightly saline finish.

Having become a reference in the appellation, Claude-Michel Pichon has enjoyed a solid career in the world of wine. After starting out as a cellar master and buyer for a trading house, he succeeded his father Raymond in 2009 at the head of Château La Chevillardière and its 88 hectares of vines.

He developed the operation by purchasing plots abandoned due to a lack of successors, while planting new areas. "Our whites are characterized by fresh mineral notes and a real typicity, like those of Château de La Chevillardière which benefit from a terroir of granite and micaschist," he considers.

It is important to make Muscadet known. And if we do not yet produce communal vintages, it is undeniable that this recognition constitutes real added value for the general public who are not necessarily familiar with our products."

95 Points Wine Spectator | This voluptuous, full-bodied, off-dry white shows a lot of power, offering round pear, mango and honeycomb flavors that take a salty turn on the palate, with brine, crushed flint and bitter almond skin, backed by a subtle hint of brioche on the finish. Opening up in the glass, this gorgeous wine offers loads of immediate charm, but should have a long life ahead in the cellar as well.

Taking its roots deep into the chalk soils of Vouvray, this off-dry wine resonates beautifully in the mouth. Its natural sugar and refreshing acidity blend harmoniously. Aerial and complex, this fruity wine is to be appreciated young, but can reveal itself graciously to the ones who wait. Winemaker Description. 

Winemaker Description 

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.