Loire Valley Wine

Winemaker Description

The grapes for this wine are sourced from the main four appellations, including Sancerre and Pouilly Fume, which are known for their racy, mineral-driven style. The nose is fresh and vibrant with notes of lime zest, ruby grapefruit, green pear and mandarin oranges.

There is an undercurrent of wet stones throughout. True to its terroir, it is refreshing with moderate acidity but it also has some weight in the mid-palate due to being aged on its fine lees. 

Pale gold in color, clear and limpid.  A typical Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc nose, grassy and herbal combining with floral and citrus notes.   Crisp and clean in the mouth  with notes of orange, passion fruit and lots of herbal flavors.

Gillian Sciaretta writes:  A hint of white blossom weaves through the crisp apple and pear flavors of this light-bodied white, with seashell, herb and wet stone accents detailing the finish. Brisk acidity. Drink now.   - Wine Spectator

Our Professional Review

Rand Sieger 67 Wine Buyer | This organic Cabernet Franc rosé from the center of the Loire Valley is made from hand harvested fruit half of which is whole cluster direct pressed, and half seigneé (bleeding off). It is dense and aromatic with fresh acidity and a light pearliness.

Winemaker Description

100% Cabernet Franc. Raffault uses 50% certified-organic estate fruit (from sandy, gravelly, flat parcels along the Vienne) and sources the other 50% from a neighboring grower in conversion to organic farming. All of the wine is made from hand-harvested fruit in the Raffault cellar.

Half of the fruit is pressed directly as whole clusters and the other half is saigné. The fermentation takes place spontaneously with native yeasts in stainless steel tanks. The wine does not go through malolactic fermentation and is aged in tank as well. It is bottled with a light, non-sterile filtration in the spring following the vintage. 

Winemaker Description

Vibrant and finesse-driven notes of framboise, rose petal, and wild flowers. Medium-bodied, supple, elegant and lively, with almost racy acidity, this graceful and finely built rosé is ideal for drinking over the coming summer months. 

Expert Review

90 Points Vinous | The 2017 Brut Vouvray Pétillant is a lightly sparkling demi-sec style. This is a round and lightly biscuity expression with very fine delicate bubbles but not fully sparkling - the second fermentation uses some residual natural sugar that is retained from the first fermentation. Left on lees for around three years, it develops a light pastry character alongside floral notes and a salty sensation. The mouth-watering acidity combines with an attractive, textural roundness and weight.  

Winemaker Description

Golden color with emerald rims. First aromas deliver toasted and mineral notes of flint and nectarine followed by a bouquet of roasted dry hazelnut. The palate is fruity and soft, with green coffee flavors and Anjou Pear notes. Elegant and with a fresh finish, like a sour candy or a spicy apple purée. 

 Winemaker Description

With the Classic, it is a fresh and fruity wine that expresses itself. 

The combination of freshness and delicate fragrances allows it to be served with grilled white fish and meats, shellfish, vegetable tians and Japanese dishes. Also, ideal for an aperitif. 

Expert Rating

94 Points Wine Spectator | Bruised apple and persimmon give this a beautiful earthy dimension, while racy, pithy acidity powers the energy. The rich fruit and ripeness is well-matched by the notes of fleur de sel and crushed stone. Shows impressive depth, acid verve and coiled energy, which carries the off-dry profile.

Winemaker Description

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

Bright and pale golden. A fresh, citrus palate with mineral notes of flint from the caillote soils. Richly textured but with crisp acidity and textbook minerality. The finish is elegant with the typical purity and refreshment of Sancerre. Winemaker Description.

Winemaker Description 

Produced from their young vines from the first harvest selection, this Savennieres is a charming wine energized with aromas of citrus & white flowers, balanced with cool acidity.

Producer Description 

This wine comes from the estate's two oldest Romorantin vineyards .It is fermented in stainless steel tanks and concrete vats and aged in stainless steel and fiberglass on the lees. Powerful, racy aromatics coupled with richness akin to polished white stones, sea salt and dried white nectarine—if drinking now, decant and serve with poached chicken, swordfish and decadent cheeses; will also cellar well for another five years.

Herve Villemade has been working his family's vines in Cellettes since taking over from his father in 1995. Today, the estate represents about 22 hectares of organically farmed fruit within the Cheverny and Cour-Cheverny AOCs, along with a negociant license to supplement production with local grapes.

Winemaker Description

100% Chenin Blanc. Pinon makes two traditional-method sparkling wines, from bunches picked earlier than for the still wines and from the more clay and flint-forward parcels. The vines average 45 years old and have been certified-organic since 2007. For the non-dosé--versus the straight brut--the fruit is harvested later and thus riper. The bunches are harvested manually, rigorously sorted and gently and slowly pressed, with the juice flowing by gravity into underground tanks. Fermentation is spontaneous with indigenous yeasts and lasts 4 to 6 weeks. The wine is racked into old tonneaux and steel tanks for 2-3 months of aging on the fine lees. It is then lightly filtered and bottled for its second fermentation; the wine remains on the lees for 4 years before disgorgement. Zero dosage and zero RS.

Expert Review

View from the Cellar 92 Points | Pinon The 2018 Vouvray Pétillant Brut Non-Dosé from Julien Pinon is an outstanding wine. The grapes for this bottling are picked a touch later than those for the regular Brut Pétillant, as they are going to receive no dosage. The wine is fermented with native yeasts, the vins clairs are raised in old tonneaux for three months and the wine is given fully four years aging sur lattes prior to disgorgement. The 2018 version delivers lovely aromatic refinement in its bouquet of apple. citrus peel, a touch of quince, bread dough, chalky minerality and a lovely topnote of dried flowers. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied and complex, with excellent balance and grip, a fine core, lovely soil inflection, elegant mousse and a long, seamless and vibrant finish. This is outstanding sparkling Vouvray. 2023-2050.

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.

Producer Description 

Aromas of melons, fresh herbs, white flowers; a delicate note of sea salt. Creamy yet light on the tongue; poached white fruits, lime zest, grapefruit. Very long.

Winemaker Description

100% Cabernet Franc. Les Picasses is the most famous Chinon lieu-dit, close to the village of Beaumont-En-Vron on the north bank of the Vienne River. It is a slope with full southern exposure and chalky clay-limestone soils. Raffault's mid-slope vines are at least 50 years old and are worked organically and harvested by hand.

The fruit is destemmed with the berries left whole; they are fermented with indigenous yeasts in tank with a maceration of 25-30 days. The wine is aged for one to two years in 30-hectoliter oak and chestnut foudres; it is then aged in bottle for several years before release. Winemaker Description. 

Made with a mixture of raisined grapes and others with botrytis, it is an excellent example of a Coteaux du Layon from the Loire, which brings together the best of two worlds. This delicious dessert wine is made 50:50 of noble rot and late harvest grapes. Made biodynamically and with natural yeast, it exhibits succulent flavours of mango, pineapple, and sweet spices such as saffron. A very high acidity makes this wine quite refreshing considering how sweet it is. Fruit and/or nut based desserts, salty blue cheese Deliciously sweet, with good acidity, ideal as an aperitif, with cheese or after dinner. Winemaker Description. 

Winemaker Description

Intense and complex range of fruity Chenin Blanc, floral and spicy scents with notes of ripe fruit, pineapple, almond, anise, licorice and an ethereal nuance.

It carries appellation Savennières. The vines of an Middle Age of a score of years result from selections massales, and not clonales, to increase aromatic complexity. The grounds are primarily made schists but also sometimes of quartz and more rarely of sand. The outputs are of 30/35 hectolitres per hectare (50 authorized). Wine making out of wood or tank. Production: approximately 15 000 bottles/year.