Loire Valley

• Bourgueil
• Jasnières
• Muscadet
• Mont Louis
• Sancerre
• Saumur
• Savennières
• Touraine
• Vouvray

What a beautiful wine.  At age 15, this has settled into a nice sweet spot.  Sealed with a screw cap.  Golden in color, but too dark.  The nose is big with dried honey, pears, orange peel and salinity.  Full bodied and slightly viscous.  On the palate, this is slightly sweet.  Delicious with great minerality.  Oranges and honey over minerals.  Still showing youthful with lots of verve.  Long finish.  This should easily go another fifteen to twenty years.  It works great on its own and will work with less sweet or fruit based desserts (especially pears or oranges).  

Another gorgeous bottle from one of the top producers of Vouvray.  Light golden in color.  The nose is great.  Lots of minerality with pears, quince and saline.  On the palate, this is medium bodied.  Ripe quince and orange peel with underlying minerality.  Great smooth texture.  Nice balance.  Long finish.  This is slightly sweet but certainly not overt.  This should last for a couple of decades although Huet has had some issues with random bottles prematurely oxidizing.  Still, laying a few down and drinking some young is a nice strategy.  This drinks great on its own and would work well

This wine is just starting to come into its own.  A gorgeous showing for this Sauvignon Blanc from France.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is pretty with melon, peaches and minerality.  Medium bodied.  Crisp yet welcoming at the same time.  Great balance.  Depth and complexity.  The peach notes are stronger on the palate along with a chalkiness.  Long finish.  Just delicious.  This sill work great with seafood or lighter pasta dishes and of course, on its own.  No hurry, this seems like it is in middle age and will easily got another ten to twelve years.  

Huet is perhaps my favorite producer of Chenin Blanc in the world.  These are wines that will last for decades and drink well young (with a bit of air).  This is one is demi-sec or off dry.  Light golden in color, shimmering bright.  The nose is pretty with orange peel, slight peach, sea air and minerals.  Medium to full bodied.  Slightly sweet but not cloying, which is nicely balanced by acidity.  Delicious with flavors or oranges apples and peaches over a mineral base.  Long finish.  If well stored, this should drink well for fifteen more years or more.  Lovely on its own, it will work ni

`This is a 100% Cabernet Franc froma Co-Op in Saumur.  An inexpensive red, it is an excellent value.  Inky purple in color.  The nose is light but has cherries, plums, green bell pepper and a bit of a steely note.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, there is more present.  Plums and cherries with a bit of a green streak.  Light tannins.  With air the red fruits come out more.  Moderate finish.  This probably won't get better but should drink well for five to seven years.  It is better with a bit of food.  Stews or Chili would work well.  For $13, its hard to expect more from a red.  

From one of the top red producers in the Loire Valley.  2005 was a strong vintage and allowed the Cabernet Franc to get ripe.  This was a great showing for this wine.  It was identifiable as the Loire with everything good about it.  Deep ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is great.  Earthy, slight barnyard, cherries, slight black cherries and an interesting clove note.  With air, a fresh tobacco note comes out.  On the palate, this is soft.  A nicely layered and complex texture.  Layers of cherries, slight black cherries, fresh hay and slight earthiness.  There are still lig

This is a Chenin Blanc from the central part of the Loire Valley.  Medium "olde" gold in color  with just a touch of copper.  The nose is very nice with lots of minerals, a bit of salinity and some orange peel.  On the palate, this is dry.  Nice citrus with some orange pith and underlying minerality.  Slightly tart on the finish.  A lovely, slightly oily texture.  Chenin ages very well and this is still drinking well.

Just an outstanding bottle of wine from a wine that is just about always great!  Light golden in color with slight green swirls.  A gorgeous nose with honey, pineapple, great minerality, salinity and crushed shells.  On the palate, this is slightly viscous.  Slightly sweet.  Wonderfully balanced.  Peaches, honey, red apples with underlying minerality.  Long finish.  This is just delicious.  Easy to drink.  Consumed over two nights it was very different but great on both nights.  Much more seamless on the second night if a bit less exuberant.  This will work well with salads and also spicy f

I love Chenin Blanc and some of my favorites come from the Loire Valley in France.  This is an excellent wine.  It was $35 on release.  Golden in color.  The nose is mostly about minerality although there is a touch or orange peel.  Very clean.  On the palate, this has a light sweetness to it.  Lots of minerality with good acidity.  It has a lot of complexity even at this young age.  Quite concentrated.  Consumed over three nights, it was best on night three.  This should easily last a couple more decades.  It will go well with lighter foods or foul and also consider Thai or similar cuisine

Both Francis and Pascal Cotat wineries make some of the best Sauvignon Blancs in the world.  These are age worthy white wines that are truly unique expressions.  This one, while still young, was singing with a bit of air.  Light golden in color with some green hues.  The nose has chalk, gun powder, and pear notes.  Just a hint of caramel.  On the palate, this has a whiff of sweetness; just ever so slightly off dry.  The pears carry thru and the gun powder turns more smoky.  This is deep and complex.  It went quite well with a creamy tomato soup.  This likely will continue to improve for ano