France

Loire Valley

The Loire Valley is scattered over 175,000 acres stretching from the Atlantic Ocean across to central France.

Covering such a large region it is natural that it’s been broken down into sub-regions that specialise in the growing of specific varieties.

Whites

The 3 main varietals are Melon de Bourgogne, Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc.

Other varietals include Folle Blanche, Chardonnay, Chasselas, Romorantin Sauvignon Gris and Tressalier.

These are made into dry, semi-sweet, sweet and sparkling wines, mostly single varietal.

Melon de Bourgogne

Native to: Burgundy (Bourgogne). Introduced by monks in the 17th century.

Principal AOCs: Muscadet, Muscadet-Coteaux-de-la-Loire, Muscadet-Sèvre-et-Maine, Muscadet Côtes-de-Grandlieu. Muscadets Crus Communaux: Gorges, Clisson, Le Pallet, Loire Valley PGI

Chenin, also known as: Pineau de Loire

Native to: The Loire Valley. Around the 10th century, this variety was known as “Plant d’Anjou.” The current name was popularised by Rabelais in the 15th century.

Principal AOCs: Anjou-Blanc, Bonnezeaux, Quarts-de-Chaume-Grand-Cru, Coteaux-du-Layon, Coteaux-Du-Layon-Premier-Cru-Chaume, Savennières, Savennières-Roche-Aux-Moines, Coteaux-de-l’Aubance, Anjou-Coteaux-de-La-Loire, Coteaux-de-Saumur, Crémant-de-Loire, Saumur-Blanc, Saumur-Brut, Touraine, Touraine-Amboise, Touraine-Mesland, Chinon, Jasnières, Coteaux-du-Loir, Vouvray,  coteaux-du-vendômois, Loire Valley PGI

Sauvignon Blanc

Native to: Loire Valley

Principal AOCs: Perhaps the most famous AOCs are Pouilly Fumé and Sancerre. Other AOC’s producing Sauvignon Blanc include Touraine, Touraine-Mesland, Touraine-Oisly, Touraine-Chenonceaux, Haut-Poitou, Loire Valey PGI, Quincy and Reuilly.

Reds

The 3 main varietals are Cabernet Franc, Gamay and Pinot Noir.

Other varietals include : Grolleau, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pineau d’Aunis, Côt and Négrette.

Used to make reds, rosés and sparkling wines, mostly as single varietals.

Cabernet Franc , also known as: Breton

Native to: the Nantes region, but thought to come from the Basque Country in Spain. It is the Loire region’s chief red varietal, introduced in the 11th century.

Principal AOCs: Anjou-Rouge, Anjou-Villages, Anjou-Villages-Brissac, Cabernet-d’Anjou, Cabernet-de-Saumur, Rosé-d’Anjou, Rosé-de-Loire, Crémant-de-Loire, Saumur-Rouge, Saumur-Champigny, Saumur-Puy-Notre-Dame, Saumur-Brut, Touraine, Touraine-Amboise, Touraine-Chenonceaux, Touraine-Azay-le-Rideau, Touraine-Mesland, Coteaux-du-Loir, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, Chinon, haut-poitou, Loire Valley PGI

Gamay

Native to: The Centre-East region of France.

Principal AOCs: Anjou-Gamay, Rosé-de-Loire, Rosé-d’Anjou, Touraine, Touraine-Azay-Le-Rideau, Touraine-Mesland, Coteaux-du-Loir, Loire Valley PGI

Pinot Noir

Native to: Burgundy.

Principal AOCs: Touraine, Touraine-Noble-Joué, Loire Valley PGI


Domaine Arnaud Lambert


Looking good! Fresh, style with a nice phenolic grip and cleansing astringency with crunchy mineral acid. Spiced pear and quince with citrus rind and fresh marmalade are balanced by silvery almond lining. Building generosity in the glass. Give this a year in bottle to settle a little and drink over 5 years.
$62
$59ea in any 6+
$56ea in any 12+
Serious Chenin here. A big jump from the Midi. Lambert appears to be working with a little more phenolic extract adding a playful grip and cleansing astringency. Very complete and flowing. David’s extra time in old oak and a 2nd winter in tank give it harmony and refinement, flowing with a real step up in sophistication. Super zippy, mineral acid with the core of fruit to support it. Building generosity and freshness in the glass on a fine crisp acidity. Heading more strongly down the quinc
$111
$107ea in any 3+
$103ea in any 6+


Domaine du Closel


A delicious Jalouise. Quince and Fejoa with a little baking spice. Building in depth with decent length in the glass. Textural phenolics play nicely with chalky acid complexed by hazelnut and crème pat from lees. Vivacious and refreshing. It’ll be lovely to see this fill out with a little more bottle age. Lemon oil and zest at play. Let it warm a little. The perfect intro to the fresher styles of Savennières. It will offer load more with time in bottle!
$94
$90ea in any 3+
$86ea in any 6+
A complex, textural and thrilling Chenin Blanc. Two parcels, one picked earlier and devoid of botrytis, one later with a little botrytis marry seamlessly presenting us with an entrancing creature. Dry Chenin of this standing is truly something special. There’s a certain composure and harmony here. A fine example, the textural elements show a leaning to less alcohol and higher perceived acidity than its sibling ‘La Caillardières’ adding a degree of restraint and sophistication to thi
$145
$140ea in any 3+
$135ea in any 6+

Domaine Roche Neuves


The White

Pretty, fine, long, textured & rich. Quince fruit with lovely caressing phenolics & a refreshing finish. A faint lick of green leafy herbs chervil or tarragon. Fine, a lovely pithy finish cleansing with a little bitterness. Wild ferment in 1200 stockingers 600 barrels. Fresh & thirst-quenching. Opened beautifully in the glass. Yum! Out to play now with plenty to come.
$87
$83ea in any 3+
$79ea in any 6+
Bone Dry!
Stunning Chenin Blanc to Rival the Drinking Pleasure of 1er Cru White Burg & the Worlds Best Dry Rizza! So fine. Superbly textured. Stunning acid of epic length, piercing long and lovely. Fruit length and depth continue to build epically long after swallowing. Incredibly complex & layered. Such depth. Citrus, lemon, a little white grapefruit, pear & quince, garrigue woody herb. When the acid settles and generosity builds with time in bottle this will be an absolute ripper. Wait 3-5 years.
$163
$156ea in any 3+
$149ea in any 6+
Bone Dry!
Chenin. Take the syrup from poached quince and mix it with Créme pâtissière. Entrancing. Lovely, feel like I’m cooking quince. Long fine, excellent acid, draws you in, alive with personality. Bone dry! Phenolics here are interesting, dusty rather than oily. They have a wonderful cleansing feel. Savory with a little oxidative character just enough to add intrigue. Fun. Very good.
$199
$192ea in any 3+
$185ea in any 6+

The Red

Lovely plump juice that caresses the palate. Loads of energy here. Crunchy fruits perfumed with violets and baking spice. The texture here is exceptional incredibly fine tannins even tannins. Line and length of juicy acid. Loving the finesse here. Superb drinking. Sate the deepest of thirsts!
$54
$51ea in any 3+
$48ea in any 6+

Roches Neuves Samur-Champigny 2021

Cabernet Franc | Saumur-Champigny, D'Anjou-Saumur

Beautiful, plump yet linear fruit average 25 up to 70 years. Wild and tank only ferment. Bright lovely balance and flow. Great way to start the range. A little spice woody herb a little violets and blue fruits. A herbal note in a refreshing & very nice way. Moderate weight and length. Restrained crunchy and delicious. As per Gibb's note could easily be drunk with a couple of degrees knocked off it. “The 2021 Domaine des Roches Neuves is made in a light bodied, delicate and fragrant
$57
$54ea in any 3+
$51ea in any 6+
Deceptive in it’s depth and length. There is a trick exceptional wines manage, they appear weightless yet have incredible depth and layer after layer of intrigue. This is such a wine. Funny, Thierry’s wines remind me in so many ways of Yarra Yering. When I made wine there we were focused on two things, texture and complexity, building in layer after layer of intrigue. As with Thierry’s fruit we had incredible acidity. We aimed to make wines that you’d drink half a bottle, think, shit tha
$116
$111ea in any 3+
$106ea in any 6+

Château Pierre-Bise


Château Pierre-Bise Savennières ‘Clos de Coulaine’ 2018

Chenin Blanc | Savennières, D'Anjou-Saumur

The extra couple of years here gives us an idea of where the 2020 Roche Aux Moines will head. Honeyed, lemon, baking spices a little of the lanolin character that seems to come through in Chenin from Anjou-Samur. Again the transparency of pear fruit with textural phenolic elements at play. Divine wine. Thirst quenching and delicious.
$59
$56ea in any 3+
$53ea in any 6+
Wine of personality keep on coming from Savennieres. Lythe, transparent fruit. Dry with pear, baking spice and candied citrus peel. Somehow they have managed to combine a weightless feel with the depth of fruit,a little phenolics and glycerol making for a luscious caress of the tongue. A fine wine that as with all dry Chenin will need a couple of years to start expressing itself in full. I can see why the 2018 managed to score 1 of just 50 wines in show out of almost 19,000 at Decanters 2021 Awa
$87
$83ea in any 3+
$79ea in any 6+

Filters & Sorting

Showing 36 Delicious Wines!

Bernard Baudry Chinon Le Domaine 2019

Cabernet Franc | Touraine, France

A dense, savoury style with wonderful aromatic spice and earth character that feels very true to the Cabernet Franc variety. Le Domaine has a meaty, ferrous, animal nose so typical of top-notch Chinon and this particular Baudry cuvée shows a complex, fluid, sappy palate with roasted meat, wet earth, blackberry pastille and menthol characters. This is not at all a modern, pure, fruit-driven red, but rather it harks back to the more rustic, complex, sauvage, Rabelaisian Chinons of old. That said,
$46
$44ea in any 3+
$42ea in any 6+

Alphonse Mellot Sancerre La Moussière HALF 2020

Sauvignon Blanc | Sancerre, France

There’s Sauvignon and then there is Sauvignon from Sancerre. There’s Sancerre and then there is Dagenau. Then a pack chasing him. Mellot right at the front of that pack. Beautiful poise, delicacy and vertical long shape to the palate. Lovely bright fruit that has shifted beyond primary to aromas and flavours of intrigue. Crisp fine acid. This is an impressive drink. There’s a little passion fruit and gooseberry if you look for it. Overall it’s just a wonderful seemless Sauvignon Blanc.
$51
$49ea in any 3+
$47ea in any 6+
Lovely plump juice that caresses the palate. Loads of energy here. Crunchy fruits perfumed with violets and baking spice. The texture here is exceptional incredibly fine tannins even tannins. Line and length of juicy acid. Loving the finesse here. Superb drinking. Sate the deepest of thirsts!
$54
$51ea in any 3+
$48ea in any 6+

Roches Neuves Samur-Champigny 2021

Cabernet Franc | Saumur-Champigny, D'Anjou-Saumur

Beautiful, plump yet linear fruit average 25 up to 70 years. Wild and tank only ferment. Bright lovely balance and flow. Great way to start the range. A little spice woody herb a little violets and blue fruits. A herbal note in a refreshing & very nice way. Moderate weight and length. Restrained crunchy and delicious. As per Gibb's note could easily be drunk with a couple of degrees knocked off it. “The 2021 Domaine des Roches Neuves is made in a light bodied, delicate and fragrant
$57
$54ea in any 3+
$51ea in any 6+

Château Pierre-Bise Savennières ‘Clos de Coulaine’ 2018

Chenin Blanc | Savennières, D'Anjou-Saumur

The extra couple of years here gives us an idea of where the 2020 Roche Aux Moines will head. Honeyed, lemon, baking spices a little of the lanolin character that seems to come through in Chenin from Anjou-Samur. Again the transparency of pear fruit with textural phenolic elements at play. Divine wine. Thirst quenching and delicious.
$59
$56ea in any 3+
$53ea in any 6+
Looking good! Fresh, style with a nice phenolic grip and cleansing astringency with crunchy mineral acid. Spiced pear and quince with citrus rind and fresh marmalade are balanced by silvery almond lining. Building generosity in the glass. Give this a year in bottle to settle a little and drink over 5 years.
$62
$59ea in any 6+
$56ea in any 12+

Domaine Guiberteau Samur Blanc 2020

Chenin Blanc | Saumur, France

This is 100% Chenin Blanc, grown on the calcareous soils in and around Brézé, more precisely, from younger vines in Clos de Guichaux and Clos des Carmes, as well as some old vines from the Bas de Pentes terroir of Brézé. Then there is a splash of Les Chapaudaises from Bizay. As any Saumurois will tell you, these terroirs are some of the crown jewels of Saumur (particularly the Clos des Carmes which sits on the chalky mother-rock of the Brézé hill, just below the Château de Bréz�
$66
$63ea in any 3+
$60ea in any 6+
La Haie Nardin Samur Blanc come a single, one-hectare lieu-dit of 50-year old vines. It's a playful, thirst-quenching Chenin that opens with layers of orchard fruit - poached quince, pear - bright citrus, and hints of baking spice. Bone-dry with grapefuit acidity, this wine is fresh on the palate with a sublte funk and faint hits of lanolin. It's an impressive gateway to the Clos de L'Écotard wines, with terrific balance and good development.
$68
$65ea in any 3+
$62ea in any 6+

Alphonse Mellot Sancerre La Moussière 2020

Sauvignon Blanc | Sancerre, France

There’s Sauvignon and then there is Sauvignon from Sancerre. There’s Sancerre and then there is Dagenau. Then a pack chasing him. Mellot right at the front of that pack. Beautiful poise, delicacy and vertical long shape to the palate. Lovely bright fruit that has shifted beyond primary to aromas and flavours of intrigue. Crisp fine acid. This is an impressive drink. There’s a little passion fruit and gooseberry if you look for it. Overall it’s just a wonderful seemless Sauvignon Blanc.
$79
$76ea in any 3+
$73ea in any 6+
L'Enroulée is a one-off cuvée and is a blend of Le Haie Nardin, which is normally a separate wine, “rolled together” this parcel with the fruit from his vines in Les Quarts-Saint-Vincent.This wine gives a prnounced perfume of white blossom and jasmine. Clos de l'Écotard's hallmark quince is back with more length and depth, as well as a pop of lanolin. The acidity and texture here are superb; mineral and lon, with a layer of phenolics playing nicely on the tongue. Flavours of maple, nuts a
$86
$82ea in any 3+
$78ea in any 6+

Clos de l’Écotard Saumur Blanc 2019

Chenin Blanc | Saumur, France

The estate's signature wine, the Clos de Ecotard, offers a refined and harmonoious expression of Chenin Blanc. With white flowers and delicate perfume, flavours of ripe pear, maple spice and a mineral undercurrent are balanced by a taut line of invigorating acidity. The texture gradually builds on the palate and takes shape beautifully in the mouth, with wonderful depth and length and a gentle sweep of phenolics characterise by a fine silvery bitterness on the finish.
$86
$82ea in any 3+
$78ea in any 6+
Wine of personality keep on coming from Savennieres. Lythe, transparent fruit. Dry with pear, baking spice and candied citrus peel. Somehow they have managed to combine a weightless feel with the depth of fruit,a little phenolics and glycerol making for a luscious caress of the tongue. A fine wine that as with all dry Chenin will need a couple of years to start expressing itself in full. I can see why the 2018 managed to score 1 of just 50 wines in show out of almost 19,000 at Decanters 2021 Awa
$87
$83ea in any 3+
$79ea in any 6+
Pretty, fine, long, textured & rich. Quince fruit with lovely caressing phenolics & a refreshing finish. A faint lick of green leafy herbs chervil or tarragon. Fine, a lovely pithy finish cleansing with a little bitterness. Wild ferment in 1200 stockingers 600 barrels. Fresh & thirst-quenching. Opened beautifully in the glass. Yum! Out to play now with plenty to come.
$87
$83ea in any 3+
$79ea in any 6+

Terre de l’Elu Vin de France ‘Bastingage’ 2021

Chenin Blanc | Loire Valley, Anjou

Flow and shape here is excellent. A blend of 4 terroirs. Vinified separately. Seamless, rich textural wine with an acid cut and a little bitterness keeping it fresh. Pear and fresh quince cooked to blush as on a cake. A lovely core of fruit. Delicacy playing with the richness.  A little white flower hint of that marzipan and gentle silvery sweep of bitterness. Fermented in 500L oak with a discrete positive influence from 10% new wood. Terre de l’Elu have been working carefully on the qu
$88
$84ea in any 3+
$80ea in any 6+
A delicious Jalouise. Quince and Fejoa with a little baking spice. Building in depth with decent length in the glass. Textural phenolics play nicely with chalky acid complexed by hazelnut and crème pat from lees. Vivacious and refreshing. It’ll be lovely to see this fill out with a little more bottle age. Lemon oil and zest at play. Let it warm a little. The perfect intro to the fresher styles of Savennières. It will offer load more with time in bottle!
$94
$90ea in any 3+
$86ea in any 6+

Thibaud Boudignon Anjou Blanc Grey Label 2021

Chenin Blanc | Loire Valley, Anjou

On the 2020: ”Unlike his Savennieres, the fruit for Boudignon’s 2020 Anjou blanc is purchased. The result is a pure, clean wine with delectable purity. There are delicate flavours of just ripe pineapple, citrus, nettles and a subtle hint of vanilla. It is fermented and aged in both 500 liter barrels and oval Stockinger ‘cigars’. A line of acidity ulls this wine through to a refined conclusion. It can be approached now for its fine fruit but will go on.” Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous 91 Po
$105
$100ea in any 3+
$95ea in any 6+