2

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

Domaine Arnaud Lambert Samur Brézé 'Clos David' 2021
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+
Add to cart
More Info

Domaine du Closel

Domaine du Closel Savennières 'La Jalousie' Chenin Blanc 2020
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+
Add to cart
More Info
Domaine du Closel Savennières 'Le Clos du Papillon' Chenin Blanc 2020
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+
Add to cart
More Info

Domaine Roche Neuves

The White

Domaine des Roches Neuves Samur Blanc 'l'Insolite' 2021
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+
Add to cart
More Info
Domaine des Roches Neuves Samur Blanc 'Clos de l'Échelier' 2021
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+
Add to cart
More Info
Domaine des Roches Neuves Samur 'Clos Romans' 2018
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+
Add to cart
More Info

The Red

Theirry Germain (Roches Neuves) Samur-Champigny 'Les Roches' 2019
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+
Add to cart
More Info
Roches Neuves Samur-Champigny 2021

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+
Add to cart
More Info
Domaine des Roches Neuves Samur-Champigny 'La Marginale' 2019
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+
Add to cart
More Info

Château Pierre-Bise

Château Pierre-Bise Savennières 'Roche aux Moines' 2020

Château Pierre-Bise Savennières ‘Roche aux Moines’ 2020

Chenin Blanc | Savennières, D'Anjou-Saumur

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+
Add to cart
More Info

Filters & Sorting

Huet Vouvray Moelleux Première Trie 'Le Mont' 2020
1st Pick Botrytis Berries. Sugar 90 g/l

Huet Vouvray Moelleux Première Trie ‘Le Mont’ 2020

Chenin Blanc | Vouvray, D'Anjou-Saumur

The intensely yellow colored 2020 Vouvray Le Mont Moelleux Première Trie is highly concentrated and complex on the nose that exhibits candied lemon zest and chutney aromas along with calcareous and walnut notes. Sweet (really sweet!) yet refined and elegant on the palate, this is a full-bodied, rich and generous yet piquant and firmly structured, greatly tensioned and salty 1ère Trie with pineapple flavors on the finely tannic and energetic, very sustainable finish. The 2020 has great aging po
$193
$186ea in any 3+
$179ea in any 6+
Add to cart
More Info
Domaine des Roches Neuves Samur 'Clos Romans' 2018
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+
Add to cart
More Info
Thibaud Boudignon Savennières 'Clos de La Hutte' 2021

Thibaud Boudignon Savennières ‘Clos de La Hutte’ 2021

Chenin Blanc | Savennières, D'Anjou-Saumur

Stunning wine. Epically good, long and fine. Harmony, seamless, delicacy with mid-palate presence and length. Nuanced, refined texture lined by superb phenolics. White flowers, super fresh white stone fruit, quince, hints of lemon oil & bees wax.  A little crème patissiere & baking spice. Intoxicating. Massive competitor with 1er Chassage, Puligny, Meursault. Incredible length. ‘Matured with 30% new oak, the 2021 Savennières Clos de la Hutte was made with grapes grown i
$277
$267ea in any 3+
$257ea in any 6+
Add to cart
More Info
Domaine Didier Dagueneau Pur Sang VDF 2022

Domaine Didier Dagueneau Pur Sang VDF 2022

Sauvignon Blanc | Pouilly-Fumé, Centre Loire

“The 2022 Pur Sang is done in a really sophisticated style. Despite its long élevage, it needs a little more time for its oak (demi-muids and cigar-shaped barrels) to integrate fully and for its sense of strictness to mellow. But this isn't a wine you'd crack open on release anyway. It is pure and clear, with fine texture and a tenderness to its core. The 2022 shows fine lines and length, with tangy green flavors like cornichons and dill meeting green orange on the finish.”Rebecca Gibb
$368
$353ea in any 3+
$338ea in any 6+
Add to cart
More Info
Domaine Didier Dagueneau Buisson Renard Blanc VDF 2022

Domaine Didier Dagueneau Buisson Renard Blanc VDF 2022

Sauvignon Blanc | Pouilly-Fumé, Centre Loire

“I’m a bit of a fan of the Buisson Renard. At the bottom of the hill below the winery in the village of Saint-Andelain, there's a greater proportion of clay to flint, giving a broadness to the wine's shape that envelops the whole mouth. In 2022, you can smell the warmth of the vintage and experience its richness and yet its sense of lightness. There's an appealing chew to the wine, and on the finish, a salty residue that makes you want to continue drinking. It retains acidity, line and lengt
$415
$395ea in any 3+
$375ea in any 6+
Add to cart
More Info
Thibaud Boudignon Savennières 'Clos Frémine' MAGNUM 2022

Thibaud Boudignon Savennières ‘Clos Frémine’ MAGNUM 2022

Chenin Blanc | Savennières, D'Anjou-Saumur

The 2022 Savennières Clos de Fremine has purity and tranquility; it's a cloud of Chenin Blanc blossoming in the mouth. There were a lot of grapes that didn't make the grade in 2022 due to the hot, dry conditions of the season, but the strict sorting implemented by Boudignon and team appears to have done the trick. The wine is gently fresh, but a salty line provides persistence. An appetizing fragrance of chamomile, honey and nectarine lingers long in the mouth.Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous 94 Poi
$417
$402ea in any 3+
$387ea in any 6+
Add to cart
More Info
Domaine Didier Dagueneau Blanc Fumé de Pouilly 2016

Domaine Didier Dagueneau Blanc Fumé de Pouilly 2016

Sauvignon Blanc | Pouilly-Fumé, France

The first bottle of Didier's wines I devoured was a bottle of Silex in 2001 with Doc when I was working with him at Yarra Yering. We were looking to benchmark for the Dry White No.1, a Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc blend. It was included in a bracket with some exceptional white Bordeaux. Prior Didier's wine I had not been impressed by the Pouilly-Fumé I had tasted, most of it green, weedy, cats piss. Silex was a breath of fresh air.Jefford's commentary sums it up beautifully. “His wines smel
$423
$408ea in any 3+
$393ea in any 6+
Add to cart
More Info
Domaine Didier Dagueneau Silex VDF 2022

Domaine Didier Dagueneau Silex VDF 2022

Sauvignon Blanc | Pouilly-Fumé, Centre Loire

“The 2022 Silex is not a lot of fun upon release; dry and tense, it really needs time to mellow. There's flesh from the clay element of its clay-flint soils, which is felt on entry but tightens up as it moves through the mouth. This remains a wine of drive, firmness and upright structure; it speaks of the place it comes from rather than its variety. Aromatics are almost a forgotten element; this is a wine about structure and texture. There is a lemony, wild goat cheese-like note and a distinct
$505
$485ea in any 3+
$465ea in any 6+
Add to cart
More Info
Thibaud Boudignon Savennières 'Clos de La Hutte' MAGNUM 2020

Thibaud Boudignon Savennières ‘Clos de La Hutte’ MAGNUM 2020

Chenin Blanc | Savennières, D'Anjou-Saumur

”The 2020 Clos de la Hutte is a wine that makes your shoulders drop such is its tranquility and sense of comfort in your mouth. It blooms in the mouth and does so without any sense of heaviness. The finish, scented with flowers and nectarines, is long, fragrant and textural. I hate using the word minerality as it means so many different things to people, but in my opinion, this has it in spades. It is incredible that the vines were only planted in 2011 on the schistous site on the grounds of a
$563
$543ea in any 3+
$523ea in any 6+
Add to cart
More Info
Domaine Didier Dagueneau Pur Sang VDF MAGNUM 2022

Domaine Didier Dagueneau Pur Sang VDF MAGNUM 2022

Sauvignon Blanc | Pouilly-Fumé, Centre Loire

“The 2022 Pur Sang is done in a really sophisticated style. Despite its long élevage, it needs a little more time for its oak (demi-muids and cigar-shaped barrels) to integrate fully and for its sense of strictness to mellow. But this isn't a wine you'd crack open on release anyway. It is pure and clear, with fine texture and a tenderness to its core. The 2022 shows fine lines and length, with tangy green flavors like cornichons and dill meeting green orange on the finish.”Rebecca Gibb
$724
$704ea in any 3+
$684ea in any 6+
Add to cart
More Info
Domaine Didier Dagueneau Buisson Renard Blanc VDF MAGNUM 2022

Domaine Didier Dagueneau Buisson Renard Blanc VDF MAGNUM 2022

Sauvignon Blanc | Pouilly-Fumé, Centre Loire

“I’m a bit of a fan of the Buisson Renard. At the bottom of the hill below the winery in the village of Saint-Andelain, there's a greater proportion of clay to flint, giving a broadness to the wine's shape that envelops the whole mouth. In 2022, you can smell the warmth of the vintage and experience its richness and yet its sense of lightness. There's an appealing chew to the wine, and on the finish, a salty residue that makes you want to continue drinking. It retains acidity, line and lengt
$779
$759ea in any 3+
$739ea in any 6+
Add to cart
More Info
Domaine Didier Dagueneau Sancerre 'Le Mont Damné' MAGNUM 2022

Domaine Didier Dagueneau Sancerre ‘Le Mont Damné’ MAGNUM 2022

Sauvignon Blanc | Pouilly-Fumé, Centre Loire

“When you taste at Dagueneau, Le Mont Damné comes along at the end of a line-up of Pouilly Fumés and seems to be oh-so-tender, caressing the palate with its gentle, fine, chalky texture. A sophisticated yet quiet style, this 0.6ha parcel on the mid-slope of this famous Sancerre vineyard was planted back in 2002. While a little closed at this stage, pretty aromas are just itching to blossom, and they are reminiscent of elderflower, ripe apple, honeysuckle and an almost exotic note. There's al
$957
$937ea in any 3+
$917ea in any 6+
Add to cart
More Info