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Off the top of my head, we’d say the toughest wines for us to source—and the wines we wish we could offer about a hundred times more often than we do—are pristine, perfectly cellared library whites. We were thinking about this as we sipped glasses of the rich, layered, impeccably aged 2006 Domaine des Baumard…
Loire Valley White of “Remarkable Finesse” and “Great Purity” Eric Morgat knew exactly what he wanted. Born into a family that worked the rugged, slate soils of Anjou for more than two centuries, Eric wanted to follow on those footsteps, but in his own way. He wasn’t going to be content to be an employee…
92pt Raats Chenin Blanc in Stellenbosch: “nectarine-scented bouquet with just a touch of beeswax” — Wine Advocate In the early 1980s, we made our first trip to the cellars and vineyards of the central Loire Valley. We were invited to dinner at Jean Bardet, just 10 minutes east of the beautiful city of Tours and,…
Taking 100 Chenin Blancs by Storm This past week, we sat down to taste over 100 Chenin Blancs—Vouvrays and Savennieres from the Loire Valley, old-vine bottlings from South Africa, and examples from Napa that have 100-point winemakers fixated on putting their own mark on this incredibly versatile variety. Three hours later, one had distinguished itself…
The Under-the-Radar White We Love Few under-the-radar whites excite us as much as dry Vouvray—so why do we offer it so infrequently? Because the amazing Loire whites we have tasted in our time have set the bar high, and not much of the Vouvray that makes it to the States, and to our tasting panel,…
We’ve been working for some time to get this allocation of Philippe Foreau’s Vouvray from Clos Naudin. This is without a doubt one of the world’s great white wines, and because it is exceptionally affordable for a wine of its quality, demand is intense. Especially in great vintages like 2016, the challenge is always finding…
Any lover of wine must try Domaine des Baumard’s Quarts de Chaume. The outscored the 2017 Château d’Yquem in Decanter, and its 97-point score made it the top sweet wine of the vintage, by Decanter as well as Wine & Spirits magazine. The 2017 is a wine of “Edenic bounty,” in the words of W&S,…
The 2017 Mathieu Cosme Les Promenards Vouvray Sec embodies why no wine gets us more excited than top dry Chenin Blanc: because it offers one of the most profound, age-worthy, and irresistible values in the white wine world. Today, we caught lightning in a bottle with the only U.S. allocation of this bottling from one…
Hidden in the Foothills of Howell Mountain The QTR Chenin Blanc was drawn off vines rooted high up on Howell Mountain, which originated from Chappellet’s Pritchard Hill vineyard. Farmed by world-renowned viticulturist Jim Barbour, this wine absolutely delights in the glass and shows the beautiful apple and floral notes and silken texture of Chenin Blanc,…
Quarts de Chaume is the only Grand Cru in the Loire Valley, and it is tiny: In it, 20 producers combine to make just over 4,000 cases of Quarts de Chaume per year. Compare that with Sauternes/Barsac, where 5 MILLION bottles are produced every year. Domaine des Baumard is the most important producer of Quarts…
The Savennières appellation is widely regarded as the seat of the world’s greatest dry Chenin Blancs, and it is tiny. Consisting of just 300 hectares of vines, it’s only about a tenth the size of Sancerre, explaining why the best producers’ wines are often impossible to purchase in the US. The gorgeous, dual 95-point 2018…
The start of 2019 in the Loire had winemakers from Nantes to Orléans on edge. Hailstorms and a late-spring cold snap hampered flowering and lowered yields. Things were looking dim—until a hot summer swooped in and turned the tide. A dry spell stressed the vines, spurring them to produce intense, concentrated berries with superb flavor….
The 2019 Domaine Huet Le Haut-Lieu is a wine of singular achievement—full-figured yet crystalline, powerful but unpretentious, it shines among the brightest of today’s superstar whites. Sotheby’s has called Huet “the benchmark for [Chenin Blanc’s] potential.” It’s ageworthy, loveable, and exceptional in every way. Parker’s Wine Advocate gave this remarkable wine a 95-point rave, calling…
This is the type of hidden wine treasure that will blow your guests’ minds when you serve it: a world-class Chenin Blanc from South Africa that’s an equal to its French counterparts, with the added bonus of a great behind-the-scenes story. You’d be hard-pressed to find another crisp white wine with so mcuh complexity at…
NBA future Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade plays to win, and when it came to his 2019 Three by Wade Chenin Blanc, he ensured the deck was stacked with the kind of 100-point talent that could deliver. With the equally legendary Jayson Pahlmeyer (yes, that Pahlmeyer) as a hands-on partner, the resulting quality far exceeds…
There may not be a wine on Earth more charming than Vouvray. Packed with an orchard’s worth of golden apples, quince, and pear, Alain de la Treille’s Les Folies is beautifully silky—just a touch off-dry, but balanced by vibrant zestiness and minerality. This is exactly the kind of wine that Parisians drink with abandon alongside…
Domaine des Baumard is Chenin Blanc. From the most powerful, structured dry wines to immortal dessert bottlings, when Baumard makes Chenin, it’s guaranteed to be complex and utterly captivating, at the top of its class. That reputation has made the estate an essential for collectors and MICHELIN-starred restaurants across the globe. This bone-dry, single-vineyard Anjou…
Domaine Huet’s Le Haut-Lieu Vouvray Sec is a wine of singular achievement—full-figured yet crystalline in its golden apple fruit, powerful but unpretentious—a wine with a price tag that would triple if it hailed from Burgundy. Sotheby’s has called Huet “the benchmark for [Chenin Blanc’s] potential.” It’s near-immortal in the cellar, loveable, and exceptional in every…
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