Wines (24 View)

Organic / Biodynamic

Château de Chaintres produces this cuvée from one of their best and oldest parcels: a 1940 planting (hence the name: the year of plantation in Roman numerals) of Cabernet Franc in the heart of the clos. Aged in a single 20-hectoliter tronconic oak cask for two winters, “MCMXL” offers intensely concentrated, sappy fruit, penetrating and finely chiseled minerality, and a firmer structure than the other Saumur-Champigny wines in the lineup.

Organic

A terrific Sancerre alternative. This is a very mineral driven Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire Valley.

Organic / Biodynamic

The pale yellow robe is very clear. The nose shows a nice expression of freshness, citrus and white flowers. The mouth is fresh with a nice tonic acidity and minimality. 100% Chenin Blanc. Vineyard planted in 1984. Direct pressing. Fermentation and maturing in stainless steel temperature-regulated tanks. Tartaric stabilisation in cold room.

Organic / Biodynamic

Made from the noble Chenin Blanc grape variety, this cuvée presents all the characteristics of ripe fruit with aromas of apricots, peaches and quince. This cuvée is fermented in barrel bringing delicate nutty aromas. The palate is round and fresh, which allows for gourmet pairings.100% Chenin Blanc. Vineyard planted in 1984.Direct pressing. Fermentation in thermoregulated stainless steel vats. Natural yeast fermentation. Aging in French oak barrels (new and used) for one year. Tartaric stabilization in cold room.

Organic / Natural

This is an incredible find in Loire Valley Cabernet Franc. This has everything you could want in a classically styled Chinon but with a “new-age” touch of freshness (no oak used, only concrete). The bouquet wafts out of the glass displaying notes of wildflowers, blackberries and bell peppers. This medium-bodied Cabernet Franc has the classic spice and pyrazine (green notes) Chinon is known for but not in a stemmy or unripe fruit way. It is subtle and adds a desired complexity. This is bright and joyful and should not be missed by Loire Valley wine enthusiasts. Lower its temperature for maximum enjoyment! Organic / Natural. 12% abv.

At the crossroads of traditional Chinon and modern, youthful winemaking you will find Domaine de la Mariniere. The depth and purity of the fruit they achieve ia terrific.

The Domaine de la Mariniere, situated in Panzoult on the eastern edge of Chinon, has been farmed by the Desbourdes family since 1965. The land here was initially used as a true, polyculture farm, raising animals and growing cereal grains in addition to grapes. Renaud Desbourdes returned to help his father in the 1980s, turning the focus to grape growing and winemaking and expanding the vineyard plantings, and eventually took full control of the domaine in 1999 when his father retired. Today, Renaud’s son, Boris, has joined his father full-time and is helping to take this traditional family domaine into the next generation.

Boris initially became passionate about organic farming after working with Vincent Laval in Champagne, and upon his return, he immediately transitioned his family’s vineyards to organics (certified in 2018). The 15 hectares of vines average 30 years old (with some old parcels having been planted in the ‘50s and ‘60s) and are planted on a mix of gravelly sand and limestone soils on the hillsides. In addition to the increased focus on farming, Boris has introduced hand-harvesting and the use of native yeast for fermentations. The result of all of this work is a set of wines that are at the forefront of a modern approach to classic Chinon, combining the best of old traditions with youthful energy.

If we had our way, fish stores would include a bottle of Muscadet with every dozen oysters sold. But barring new regulatory measures of food and drink, picking up a bottle of Muscadet should be as much of a given as dressing for salad; bread for a sandwich; a steak knife for a steak! That's how perfect and an integral this wine is with briny, East Coast oysters (or any shellfish, truly!). Here, Pepiere's version is bright and briny, with a little lemon meringue and lemon verbena on the nose, and that clear, bracing minerality that keeps you coming back for another sip (and another oyster!). -- PJ

Organic / Biodynamic

94 points Wine Spectator
Firmly structured and elegant, this is a demi-sec but supremely food-friendly and balanced, with subtle sweetness deftly offset by savory power and mineral notes. Plush and generous, with flavors of honeycomb, ripe apple and heather that are all tightly hemmed in with plum skin acidity and apple seed tannins. Green almond bitterness and hints of fleur de sel mark the complex finish. Drink now through 2037. 490 cases made.

Organic / Biodynamic

94 points John Gilman
Domaine Huët’s 2023 Clos du Bourg Sec bottling is also excellent. The wine is deep, complex and beautifully focused on the nose, wafting from the glass in a mix of quince, apple, a touch of pink grapefruit, complex, chalky soil tones, lanolin, beeswax and a topnote of gently musky white flowers. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and shows a bit more mid-palate weight than the Le Haut Lieu and Le Mont Sec bottlings in 2023, with sound acids, excellent balance and grip and fine lift on the long and complex finish. It will not be criminal to open a bottle or two of the Clos du Bourg Sec 2023 in its early days, but if one buys a case, make sure to tuck at least nine of the bottles away for the long haul.

93 points Wine Spectators
Alluring and aromatic, this seduces with honeysuckle, quince and orchard fruit wrapped in salty, leesy notes on the palate, with a hint of toast. Salty density builds toward the finish, with bitter mineral notes bringing balance along with the tangy, mouthwatering acidity. Hints of garlic scape and alpine herbs make for a fresh, clean finish. Built to last.

Organic / Biodynamic

93 points John Gilman
The 2023 Vouvray “Le Haut Lieu” Sec from Domaine Huët is a classic in the making, coming in at an even thirteen percent octane in this vintage and offering up a bright and complex bouquet of quince, lemon, chalky soil tones, lanolin, white lilies and a topnote of citrus peel. On the palate the wine is pure, precise and full-bodied, with a lovely core of fruit, a fine spine of acidity, lovely focus and grip and a long, well balanced and complex finish. As is so often the case with the Sec bottlings from Domaine Huët, the 2023 Le Haut Lieu is quite open out of the blocks and is a delicious glass of wine at the present time. If history is any guide, a few years down the road it will close up for a period of hibernation before it re-emerges to drink well for another fifty years. Fine juice. 2024-2085.

93 points Vinous
The 2023 Vouvray Sec Le Haut-Lieu is a pure, refined, seamless style with pear, pineapple and nectarine flavors. It boasts excellent clarity and refinement, with lovely freshness hailing from calibrated acidity that bursts through this blossoming wine. Considering this was only bottled three weeks before tasting, I’m very encouraged by the results

Organic / Biodynamic

94 points Vinous
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.

Organic / Biodynamic

95 points Vinous
The 2023 Vouvray Sec Le Mont is precise, upright and flinty. It's less immediately charming than the styles we've seen in recent warmer vintages, but it was only tasted three weeks after bottling—this is one to revisit. There's just the right amount of juicy, peachy flesh within this light-bodied yet concentrated wine. It has the potential to charm but does so without showing off. Flinty and tightly sewn together, it has curves in the right places, but you're just going to have to wait for it to take shape.

93 points John Gilman
The 2023 version of Le Mont Sec from Domaine Huët is another outstanding wine in the making. As is so often the case, the wine shows a bit more mineral personality in comparison to the chalkier foundations of the Le Haut Lieu bottling. The wine is beautifully measured in its ripeness, tipping the scales at thirteen percent octane and offering up a refined aromatic constellation of quince, a touch of fresh pineapple, lemon, limestone minerality, dried flowers, orange peel and incipient notes of beeswax in the upper register. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied and quite elegant in profile, with a good core of fruit, fine focus and balance, lovely mineral undertow and a long, complex finish. This is a touch less expressive out of the blocks than the Le Haut Lieu Sec, and of the two cuvées, I would be inclined to drink the Le Haut Lieu out of the blocks and tuck away the Le Mont in the cellar right from the start and let it blossom down the road.

What: 100% Sauvignon Blanc.

Where: Sancerre, Loire Valley, France.

Why: Because this is on the money for classic Sancerre. A touch of mineral, a touch of ash mixed in with grapefruit zest and prickly, food ready zippiness. We are always on the hunt for Sancerre that pushes all our buttons at this price-point and have found a real winner here. Some goat cheese with this? Yes please!

Organic / Biodynamic

91 points Vinous
The 2020 Les Choisilles offers a floral and pear-like aromatic character. It's round and ripe with good grip on the finish, which could be a result of the vintage having had little juice in it; the wines have excellent structure and fruit purity by Rebecca Gibb on 6/2022. Drinking window 2022-2032.

Old vines from the vineyards of Les Epinais, La Taille aux Loups and Clos au Renard. The wine is named after a type of black flint called choisille. Vinified sec in stainless steel using indigenous yeasts. Aged in a combination of tank and used demi-muids. The 2020 has 4.2 grams per liter residual sugar per liter and 3.75 grams per liter of Total Acidity.

Organic / Biodynamic

Organic

Nicolas Millerioux’s Sancerre Blanc ‘Tradition’ exhibits the true characteristics and purity of the appellation with notes of boxwood, lemon and hints of fresh almonds on the nose. The palate is fresh, crisp and with good acidity to lift and enhance the zesty fruit and freshness. This classic Loire Valley white wine is bone dry and extremely food-friendly.

Nicolas Millerioux is a young French vigneron who took over the family estate in 2008. Located in the hamlet of Amigny, just west of the village of Sancerre and south of Chavignol, the Milleriouxs have worked the land here for three generations, eventually expanding to the 15ha they farm today. Amigny is known for its chalky soils, and 95% of the Millerioux's holdings come from a mix of the classic limestone terroirs of the region: "Caillotes" (a hard, shallow limestone full of stones) and "Terres Blanches" (a softer Kimmeridgian marl).

In 2008 Nicolas brought organic farming to the family estate. Today, the work in the vineyards is completely organic (with certification coming) and the soils are worked manually. In the cellar, all of the wines are allowed to ferment naturally and extended lees-aging is used to enrich the wines, which allows for minimal sulfur additions only at racking and bottling. Nicolas’ goal is to define how Sancerre might have tasted earlier in the 20th century, before modern vine-clone monotony and industrial practices in the vineyards and cellar, and if his early work is any indication, he will surely be leading the charge as part of Sancerre’s new generation.

Organic / Biodynamic / Natural

Its truth is revealed on the palate: intense, succulent, mineral and slightly nutty. This Muscadet has stringent acidity which leads to a long and salty finish. As minerally refreshing and satisfying as it is now, it clearly will age up to five years continuing to develop even more depth and complexity.

Citrus aromas marked by subtle notes of grapefruit and the zest of lemons. The profile of the wine is a classic, aromatic and refined Sauvignon Blanc unadorned or manipulated. The wine lingers on the palate with a mineral character of freshness. 

Organic / Biodynamic / Natural / No Sulfur Added

This naturally sparkling Rose hails from the Loire Valley in France, comprised of organically farmed Gamay. It is bright, lively, and delicate on the palate with enticing notes of fresh strawberries and rhubarb. The finish is precise and dry.

The vineyards are spread across 25 parcels with vines ranging from 30 to 130 years for the oldest vines. The Jousset’s fundamental and profound respect for nature led them to exclude herbicides and pesticides in favor of the balance that biological diversity promises down to the microscopic level. They believe that to make an original wine it is necessary to have living soils with high microbial activity, a “living” vine, and a balanced life between plants and animals in all of the domain’s parcels.

Organic

93 points Wine Advocate
Green asparagus and earthy notes intermixed with dark berry aromas open the 2018 Saumur Puy Notre Dame Tête de Lard, which benefits from aeration. Black-red in color, the unfiltered wine aged in old barrels for 12 months and was bottled in April last year. It is a concentrated, enormously juicy and fruity-intense red wine with a velvety texture and fruit aromas of blue berries, blackcurrants, elderberries and cowberries. The soft tannins are completely interwoven with the viscous texture of this very particular red that is so soft, sweet and fruity, as if it were still fermenting. I'd cellar it for several years and assume that at 10+ years old could be the right moment to enjoy this biodynamic wine, although I also recommend tasting a bottle every second year or so to see how this natural product develops. Tasted in June 2021.

Peasant and responsible agriculture is a way of life and of thinking. when producing my grapes, i aspire to act sensibly for the people and the planet . this state of mind develops naturally from a respectful relationship with nature. since 1998, the vineyard has been cultivated and
certified by ecocert in organic farming and since 2010 in biodynamic farming by biodyvin. knowing how to adapt to a changing environment requires constant questioning. the planting of forgotten grape varieties such as pineau d’aunis, the incorporation of trees into the cultivation of
the vine (agroforestry) or the gradual abandonment of all modern oenology are avenues that i have followed for more than 20 years. other projects will emerge in the coming years. revitalizing authenticity, durability and liveliness is an integral part of the culture of my estate. the
entire manoir de la tête rouge team and i are passionate about this peasant and caring approach.

100% CABERNET FRANC FROM 20-25 YEARS OLD VINES.
12 MONTHS IN OLD OAK BARRELS + 4 MONTHS IN CONCRETE TANK.
FILTERED. UNFINED.

Organic

94 points View from the Cellar (John Gilman)
The 2017 vintage of les Picasses from Domaine Raffault has just been released, nearly six years out from the vintage. The wine is simply outstanding on both the nose and palate, with the bouquet hopping from the glass in a vibrant and already complex blend of sweet dark berries, cassis, cigar wrapper, gravelly soil tones, a touch of smoked meats, currant leaf and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, focused and complex, with superb mid-palate depth, excellent soil signature and grip, ripe, well-measured tannins and impeccable balance on the long, complex and very classy finish. At age six, this wine is certainly approachable today, but it is still a puppy and the real fireworks will not start until it is at least twelve years of age. Outstanding young Chinon! 2023-2075+

Winery Notes
On the nose, a wide range of fragrances, from vegetal with ivy and acacia to fruity with peach and lychee. A fresh start, opening for persistent mineral and fruity notes with a lingering finish on the palate.

Is this Sancerre in disguise? This refreshing white wine has all the makings of Sancerre and cost under $20! Lip smacking acidity and minerality dominate the palate. Crisp with subtle citrus notes that finishes bone dry. 100% Sauvignon Blanc from old vines.

Quincy does produce exceptionally high quality Sauvignon Blanc, much like Sancerre, but at a much more affordable price. The cost of Sancerre has skyrocketed over the years with it’s immense popularity and recent difficult vintages. So the savvy Sancerre drinker should be looking towards regions such as Quincy to get their high-acid, mineral driven white wine fix.

Today’s wine happens to be produced by an outstanding Sancerre winery, Domaine Sylvain Bailly. This is one of our favorite Sancerre producers, who really created something special with their Quincy botting.

The Bailly family have been vignerons in Sancerre from father to son since 1700. Like most winemaking families in France who suffered from the phylloxera blight in the late 19th century and then the two world wars of the 20th century, it was only in the early 1950's that Sylvain Bailly began to prosper and grow his business. His son Jacques has took the helm in the late 1980s and today, his daughter Sonia manages the estate.