Wines (48 View)

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Winemaker Notes:
Dry depending on the year, it is a fresh and fruity wine that expresses itself. The combination of its freshness and delicate flavors makes it suitable for serving fish and grilled white meats, shellfish, vegetables and Japanese dishes. Ideal in its youth for the aperitif.

Organic / Biodynamic

Eric Asimov of the New York Times praised the previous vintage in his article "20 Wines Under $20: Finding Bargains Amid Inflation", February 9, 2023. The 2021 may even be better, showing more restraint and true Loire Valley character!

This is the first bottle I’ve had from Château de Chaintres, but it will not be the last. The 2020 Les Sables is an excellent Saumur Champigny red, made entirely from biodynamically farmed cabernet franc grapes. It’s rich yet focused, with earthy flavors of dark fruits and flowers, and it has just enough tannic structure to stand up to a steak or juicy roast.

Off dry chenin blanc.

#92. on The Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines of 2023!

92 points Wine Spectator
This shows Chenin's ability to balance ripeness and concentration with structure and polish, with honeyed lemon, glazed mango, warm hay and barley flavors all buoyed by citrusy acidity and savory notes of dried thyme. A quinine kick marks the powerful, tension-filled finish. Drink now through 2030. 650 cases made, 500 cases imported.

Organic

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

A joyful, light-bodied chilable Gamay from the Loire Valley.

Organic / Biodynamic / Natural

Beautiful Cabernet Franc from the Loire Valley.

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

Dry Chenin Blanc from Anjou.

Organic / Natural / Pet Nat

A Methode Ancestrale rosé sparkling wine of Grolleau, Gamay, Cot (Malbec), Cabernet Franc from the Loire Vally. Fresh, pretty, delicious, and surprisingly complex.

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

Organic / Natural

A lovely rose crafted from Pinot Noir and Gamay. Bright and fruit-forward with more fresh red berry notes than a Provencal rose. This will be the new favorite rose of many, I am sure of it.

Organic / Natural

A seamless blend of Gamay, Pinot Noir, and Côt (Malbec) from 15 year old vines that are worked by hand according to organic principles. 15 day carbonic maceration of Gamay, regular fermentation of the Pinot Noir and Cot, spontaneous fermentation in tanks with indigenous yeasts. No fining nor filtration. A vibrant chillable red that Beaujolais fans will go crazy for!

Sauvignon Blanc grown on Silex (limestone) soils. Racy and mineral focused.

Organic

The greater vineyard of Les Poyeux hosts a mythical terroir, home to some of the Loire’s most coveted red wines. Les Poyeux consists of 2 very distinct terroirs with unique expressions, in spite of the soil components being similar.

Les Bas Poyeux rests at the lower part of the of the Les Poyeux slope, with a complex soil which begins with 20 cm of sand above a distinctive limestone and clay subsoil. This leaves a prominent limestone imprint in the wines from this area, giving Les Bas Poyeux its "blood" side. To best elaborate the depth and complexity of this particular terroir, Duveau makes the choice to age the wine in a mix of concrete and neutral barrel.

Organic

The greater vineyard of Les Poyeux hosts a mythical terroir, home to some of the Loire’s most coveted red wines. Les Poyeux consists of 2 very distinct terroirs with unique expressions, in spite of the soil components being similar.

Les Hauts Poyeux, in addition to being the higher elevation portion of Les Poyeux, its distinctiveness lies in its depth of topsoil – 60 cm of the famous Poyeux sand before reaching the first levels of clay and limestone. In vinification, Les Hauts Poyeux sees a long maceration to elaborate the aromatics linked to this soil texture, followed by aging for 12 to 18 months in neutral barrique, to sublimate the aromatics and refine the fine tannins of the terroir.

A blend of 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Chardonnay, the Cazin Cheverny features bright citrus aromas and complex mineral notes. The palate is deep, surprisingly full-bodied, with great acid and remarkable length. The Sauvignon Blanc stays on the lees until the end of November." Importer notes

Located in the eastern Loire, just south of Blois, the little known appellations of Cheverny and Cour-Cheverny are a must for any fan of Loire wines. Cheverny, the larger of the two appellations, consists of Sauvignon dominated wines while the tiny Cour-Cheverny zone must be made from the ancient Romorantin variety. Both zones have clay, limestone and silica soils. Francois Cazin hand harvests his old vines at yields that are well below average in any given year. His Cheverny is fresh and floral, with appley-texture and crisp acidity. The flavors are sleek and precise.

Organic / Biodynamic

Francois Pinon inherited his domaine from his father in 1987 and has, over the last 20 years, become widely recognized as one of the top producers in Vouvray. His mission is simple: to maintain the character of the appellation and of the vintage. The vineyards at Pinon are in the corniche of the Vallee de Cousse. The soil here is clay and silica on a base of limestone (tuffeau) with flint (silex), and the area is rated among the top sites in the appellation for Vouvrays of distinction and longevity. Pinon works organically; he plows the vineyards, does not use chemical fertilizers and pesticides and, of course, he harvests by hand and uses no cultured yeasts. All new plantings are done by massale selection and no nursery clones are used; the vines are an average of 25 years old. He is slowly moving towards organic certification with confidence that these methods produce the finest fruit. Primary fermentation occurs in wood barrels, then the wines are aged in stainless steel or foudres to obtain a balance between fruit and reduction. There is one racking to remove the heavy lees and the wine remains on its fine lees until bottling, which takes place a full year after the harvest. Rather than use a large dose of SO2, Pinon prefers to filter his wines to insure their stability and aging potential.

A fresh easy drinking expression of Pinot Noir from the Loire Valley. Lush, ripe red fruit dominate with only 12.5% abv. Far superior than anything you would get from Burgundy at this price range.

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.

Second Place finisher in our 2022 Wine Of The Year blind taste-off!

93 points Vinous
From a limestone-based plot on the Chinon plateau, the 2016 Chinon Les Picasses features intriguing warming spices, including garam masala, as well as piquant black cherry, all followed up with mouthwatering acidity. Like their other cuvées, it's not showy and extroverted but quiet, its joy being in its tender caress on the midpalate. It has grown up in large foudres (50hl) over a year but reveals little woody influence. The finish has fine sinew and refined chalky tannins that draw the palate out on the lengthy, tea-leaf-like and spiced finish.

100% Cabernet Franc. Les Picasses is the most famous Chinon lieu-dit, close to the village of Beaumont-En-Véron on the north bank of the Vienne River. It is a slope with full southern exposure and chalky clay-limestone soils, the combination resulting in fully ripened, structured wines. Raffault's mid-slope vines are at least 50 years old and are worked organically and harvested by hand. The fruit is destemmed and the whole, uncrushed berries are fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel tank; fermentation and maceration last for 25-30 days, depending on the vintage. The wine is aged for 2-3 years in oak and chestnut foudres ranging from 30-50 hectoliters; it is then further aged in tank and bottle before release about four years after the vintage. Les Picasses is the fullest-bodied, most structured and most complex of the Raffault reds. - Importer

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. - Winery

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.

Crafted from 20+ year old vines of Sauvignon Blanc in the village of Bue, but also extending into Sancerre, Amigny, Crezancy, and Montigny. Impeccably focused with laser-like acidity. Bright citrus fruit mingles with notes of wet stone and minerals. The wine dances on the palate with grace and elegance. Another perfect example of Sancerre from Sylvain Bailly.

Organic

Vincent Roussely is the 4th generation in charge of this castle estate in Angé sur Cher, Touraine, which his grandfather turned into a winemaking facility in 1917. The vineyards span 8 hectares on clay & tuffeau limestone with large deposits of flint.

Irréductible is made from a single hectare of 80+ year old vines from the local Pineu d’Aunis grape. Hand harvested and direct pressed before fermentation in 400L oak barrels, it is then aged in amphorae for 12 months and bottled unfined & unfiltered.

Concentrated, yet elegant, with notes of fresh raspberries, cherries, pepper, & purple flowers, with soft tannins, a well-integrated acidity, and a woodsy air leading to a bright finish.

100% Pineau d’Aunis.