2020 François et Julian Pinon Vouvray Les Trois Argiles, France, Loire, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2020
Score: 
94
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$28.00USD

The wines of François Pinon have been some of our favorites for quite some time.  His son Julien is now involved with him at the winery.  This wine is so named as the grapes (100% Chenin Blanc) come from three separate plots.  The wines are fermented with native yeasts in old wooden vats in the naturally cool cellar carved out of a limestone hillside.

2021 Vincent Carême Vouvray Plaisir Ancestral Brut Nature, France, Loire, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2021
Score: 
88
Grade: 
B+

This is a sparkling wine from the Loire Valley made from Chenin Blanc grapes.  The wine receives zero dosage.  It is made in the pétillant style using "natural" winemaking techniques (no added sulfites).  Pale gold in color, clear and bright.  Lots of quickly disappearing, medium sized bubbles.  The nose is lovely with green apples, with a slight smoky note and some minerality.  Medium bodied.  Good acidity.  On the palate, sour apples, some green apples and minerality.  This is mostly dry.  Nice on its own, but better with food.  This is versatile and will work with a wide variety of foods

2020 Domaine Nicolas Brunet Vouvray Brut, France, Loire, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2020
Score: 
88
Grade: 
B+
Current Price: 
$29.00USD

This is a sparkling wine (Methode Traditionelle) made from Chenin Blanc in the Loire Valley of France.  Yellow/gold in color with slight green hues, mostly clear and bright.  The mouse shows a fair amount of medium sized bubbles.  The nose has a nice minerality to it with crushed rocks and a slight seltzer quality.  Nice mouthfeel.  Medium bodied.  Good acidity.  On the palate, there is a nice seltzer note with slight ginger and a hint of char.  A bit of an herbal note (almost scallion like) on the finish.  This drinks well on its own and is very food friendly.  It would be excellent with l

2017 Domaine Huet Vouvray Pétillant Brut, France, Loire, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2017
Score: 
89
Grade: 
B+
Current Price: 
$26.00USD

This is a lightly sparkling wine made from Chenin Blanc in the Loire Valley in France.  Golden in color, the mousse quickly fades in the glass.  Medium sized bubbles.  The nose is different with yeast, slight doughy notes along with a bit of salinity.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, this is refreshing.  Dry.  Notes of honey (not sweet) and crushed shells.  Good acidity.  Long finish.  This drinks well on its own but really needs some food.  It would be very nice with a wide range of foods from a Beet Salad to a Quiche.  Unique and not a substitute for a Champagne styled wine.  Drink

2020 Domaine Luneau-Papin Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine sur lie Le Verger, France, Loire, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2020
Score: 
91
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$21.00USD

From one of the top producers of Muscadet, this is a crisp white and excellent value.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is clean with crushed shells, salinity, and slight lemon.  Medium bodied.  A bit rounder in texture than many Muscadets.  On the palate, minerals, crushed shells and slight lemon.  Good finish.  This wine is nice on its own but better with food.  A great choice with shellfish, but also nice with Artichoke Dip (not an easy match).  Drink over the next few years.  

2002 Domaine Huet Vouvray Demi-Sec Clos du Bourg, France, Loire, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2002
Score: 
95
Grade: 
A

Excellent showing for this bottle at age 21.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with orange peel, sea air, slight apple cider, peach and minerality.  Full bodied.  Good acidity.  On the palate, this is complex but also delicious.  Deep with apples, peach and minerality.  Plenty of depth.  Long finish.  Great on its own, this went quite well with vegetarian spicy Indian Food.  Drink over the next ten years.  

2019 Nicolas Joly Clos de la Coulée de Serrant, France, Loire, Savennières,Wine Review

Vintage: 
2019
Score: 
98
Grade: 
A+
Current Price: 
$135.00USD

Wow.  Great showing for this.  And, as good as it was on opening, it was even better with a few hours of air!  Golden yellow in color, clear and bright.  The nose has honey, salinity, and crushed shells.  Full bodied.  Slightly sweet with some Botrytis.  On the palate, orange rind, minerality, with good acidity.  A bit of almonds on the finish.  This is complex and deep.  Drinking well with a couple hours of air, this should improve over the next ten years.  It should easily go three more decades.  Just a stunning wine.  It will work with more savory dessert such as a polenta cake but is qu

2019 Domaine Huet Vouvray Sec Clos du Bourg, France, Loire, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2019
Score: 
97
Grade: 
A+
Current Price: 
$47.00USD

Wow.  Beautiful wine.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has slight tangerine, pears, chalk and a bit of ginger.  Full bodied.  Dry.  Deep if still tight.  Great balance.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Young, so if drinking soon, give it air.  Notes of ginger, pears and slight burnt orange peel.  Long finish.  This is great now, but still may improve a bit.  Drink over the next twenty years.  Great on its own or with food.  This would work well with grilled Trout.  

2020 François Chidaine Touraine Clos de la Grange, France, Loire, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2020
Score: 
91
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$15.00USD

Chidaine is one of our favorite producers of win es in the Loire Valley.  Compared to most Sancerre's or Pouilly Fume's, this is a tremendous value if you like Lorie Sauvignon Blanc (the ancestral home of the grape).  Not sure, well for the price, it sure seems worth checking out.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has minerality, hay, peach and slight grapefruit.  Light bodied.  Good balance.  On the palate, minerality with grapefruit.

2019 Domaine Michel Bregeon Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine sur lie, France, Loire Valley, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2019
Score: 
91
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$19.00USD

I have always felt that Muscadet can age better than given credit for.  Yes, with age it loses some of that raw crispness, but it rounds out and can get almost Chablis-like.  Of course, that depends on the producer.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is classic with salinity/crushed shells along with lanolin and a hint of citrus.  Medium bodied.

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