Loire Valley

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

`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

I opened this to drink blind to start off one of my tasting groups annual parties.  Although it obviously has some age to it, it is drinking very well.

This is a Cabernet Franc from the Loire Valley.  2003 was an extremely hot vintage and also the vintage where Benoit came home to work the vineyards with his father Yannick.  This is fully mature and maybe a bit past for some bottles and depending how you like you wine.  Deep ruby in color.  The nose has black cherries, slight tobacco, dust and slight spice.  Medium bodied.  Tannins fully resolved.  On the palate, black cherries over a cigar box quality.  Good acidity.  Nice finish.  This should be consumed in the next three to five years.  It goes well with roast or casseroles.  

This was a sound bottle.  Many of the Huet 2002's are subject to premature oxidation.  This bottle was excellent.  Chenin Blanc, especially with some residual sugar left, can last for decades.  Golden in color, clear and bright and slightly deep.  On the nose this has orange peel, crushed shells, salinity and a touch of canned peaches.  Medium bodied.  Slightly sweet on the palate.  Complex.  Nice minerality layered with a bit of peach and slight honey.  Nice acidic backbone.  This worked great with a peach cobbler dessert.  Good bottles of this can be enjoyed at any point over the next cou

This is a dessert wine made from the Chenin Blanc grape.  At age 17, this is doing great.  Chenin is one of the longest lived wine grapes out there.  Golden in color.  The nose is great with sea air, orange peel, crushed shells and honey.  Medium bodied.  This is sweet, not cloying or even very sweet but more than off dry.  There is also a bitter note on the finish which complements the sweetness nicely.  In between, some citrus and lots of minerality.  Nice acidity.  This would work with citrus based desserts well or in a small glass on its own.  No hurry, this has at least a decade left i