Loire Valley

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

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.

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.

Huet is one of the top producers in the world.  That they make Chenin Blanc in the Loire Valley just keeps the price down.  The 2020 is another star.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  It has a great nose with orange peel, slight ginger, sea air, quince.  Full bodied.  Great balance.  On the palate, this is slightly sweet with enough acidity to counter it.  Flavors of quince, slight ginger and salinity.  Long finish.  This is drinking great now and should for another fifteen years.  Great on its own, this will work nice with Thai food.

We drank thru a case of this wine and this was the last bottle.  Ten were superb, one was off and one was corked which was about par for the course back in the day with sweet Loire white wines.  This was also superb, and if you have any, no hurry on them.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is great with orange peel, apricots, sea air, canned peach syrup.  Full bodied.  Slightly sweet.  On the palate, canned peach syrup, oranges, and slight caramel note.  Long finish.  Great on its own, this will work well with not too sweet (and no chocolate) desserts.  Drink up over the next fiv

This was accidently added to a tasting of Loire Cabernet Franc.  It is of course, Pinot Noir.  Certainly not a fair way to sample the wine as it was only after the wines were unveiled that the mistake was identified.  A couple people did say it was Pinot like which is very impressive.  Still, here is the tasting note.

Purple/ruby in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has black cherries with a slight cough syrup notes.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, black cherries with slight underlying chalk and a hint of cigar tobacco.  Great texture.  This has a nice complexity that unwinds in the glass.  Drinking well on its own, this would be better with food.  It could probably stand up to a bit of spice such as tacos or even curry.  Drink over the next eve to ten years.  

This is 100% Cabernet Franc.  Purple/ruby in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has some Brettanomyces coming off as slight barnyard.  It has an "old school" Chinon quality to it.  Also some black cherries.  On the palate, the black cherries come thru (not the barnyard).  It does taste mature despite being relatively young.  Most likely that is the Brett. This will work better with food such as stew or chili.  Drink over the next seven to ten years.

Great value in Loire Cabernet Franc. Purple in color with ruby swirls, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has nice black cherry fruit with some strawberries.  Medium bodied.  Very accessible.  On the palate, more black cherry fruit. Nice finish.  This drinks very easy.  Nice on  its own, this would work nicely with roasted chicken.  Drink over the next three to five years.  

Beautiful showing for this wine.  It sees a year in large used oak and chestnut barrels and then another year in stainless before release.  Ruby  in color with a light purple core, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has black cherries, with cigar tobacco.  Medium bodied.  Very smooth texture.  Light tannins.  On the palate, black cherry fruit with some tobacco.  Nice depth and complexity as it unwinds in the glass.  Long finish.  This will be better with hearty foods such as Lamb Stew.  Drink over the next eight to twelve years.  

This is the top of the line from this top producer of Loire Cab Francs. The vineyard dates back to the 1930's. It showed well, but not as special as one might hope. Does it need more time? Who knows. Is it in a dumb phase? Possibly, but that seems unlikely. Purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose is nice with black cherry fruit, a cola note and slight chalk. Medium bodied. Light tannins. On the palate, black cherry fruit with slight tobacco note and slighter sorrel. Nice finish. Seems to be drinking well now and should continue for another eight to twelve years.