Wine & Spirits - Spring 2022 - 78

Top
Loire
Wines
Our blind panels tasted 167 Loire wines
for this issue. Corey Warren, our critic for
Loire wines, chose these 21 as the top
performers; an additional 25 Best Buys
follow the top selections. Find a complete
list of wines tasted and all reviews at
wineandspiritsmagazine.com.
WHITE
SANCERRE
95 | Fournier Père & Fils
$45
2020 Sancerre Grande Cuvée La
Chaudouillonne ^ This wine grows in the
caillottes soils around Verdigny, northwest
of the village of Sancerre. This 2020 is floralfirst,
leading with scents of apple blossom,
hydrangeas and foxglove. Peek behind the
flowers, though, and you find crystalline
lemon fruit-the tart-and-sweet impression
of dried candied lemon peel. Along
its impressive length, that flavor coalesces
towards lemongrass. Among a number of
unusually floral 2020 Sancerres, this wine
stood out for it structure, with acidity that
rides into the finish, delightfully refreshing. §
David Milligan Selections, Ridgefield, CT
93 | Domaine Roger Neveu $29
2020 Sancerre Côtes des Embouffants
(BEST BUY) ^ This wine grows on a steep, southfacing
hillside where, in 2020, it held its acidity
well, sustaining a tense structure as well
as evocative floral aromas, like hydrangeas
in bloom. Some time with air exposes a treebark
scent to accompany that perfume. Over
the course of a few days, the aromas extend
further into the finish, pointing up the juicy
core of fruit, like a perfectly ripe pear, eager
to get out of its own skin, the flesh almost
leaping into your mouth. § Kermit Lynch Wine
Merchant, Berkeley, CA
MENETOU-SALON
93 | Domaine Pellé
$30
2019 Menetou-Salon Morogues Le Carroir
(BEST BUY) ^ Directly east of MenetouSalon,
the village of Morogues has a high
proportion of Kimmeridgian limestone. But
Paul-Henry Pellé's parcel grows in silex soils,
the vines planted in 1976. In the heat of 2019,
those vines produced an opulent, strikingly
golden white, with faint notes of Cognac
spice and brandied cherry, its nutty leesiness
fed through a large-oak-cask amplifier. The
weight and richness feels Old World, pre-climate
change, before richness was a viticultural
hazard. Sit with it and let the flavorful
echoes resonate: Lemon jam with clove and
ginger, spiced apples slathered in butter. Try
it with pink lady apples, or a honeycrisp tarte
tatin. § Polaner, Mount Kisco, NY
ANJOU
VOUVRAY
93 | Saget La Perrière
$23
2018 Vouvray Marie de Beauregard ^ A top
selection from an estate near the village of
Vouvray, this wine is opulent and suffused
with floral aromas-it reminded me of viognier
before the acidity slapped me in the
face and made me call it chenin. It weaves
pear-blossom florals and spiced, poached
pear richness together in a shifting tapestry.
Concentrated and ripe as a young wine,
this could use more time in bottle to firm up
the stitch. When it comes to dinner, treat it
like a fully dry chenin, a match for a floral,
washed-rind cheese. § Taub Family Selections,
Boca Raton, FL
RED
MENETOU-SALON
94 | J. De Villebois
$26
94 | Château de
Bois-Brinçon
$35
2019 Anjou Terre de Grès Blaison ^ Last
October, Xavier Cailleau was excited to show
this visitor the highland cattle he keeps on his
property-ten adults and a calf. He likes the
energy they bring to the domaine. He and
his wife, Géraldine, have practiced biodynamics
since 2009, going so far as to return
composted must to the parcel from which it
came. This 2019 offers its own wild energy
in a chewy texture and fresh aromas. A natty
edge adds complexity around the edges,
and, though all my notes make it sound rich
(lemon caramel, honeyed pear, blonde taffy
without the sweetness), the overall impression
is of an elegant rusticity, combining
white mushrooms and apple cider in the
way great chenins can. This one, from vines
averaging 50 years old, presents a patchwork
of complexity-not unlike the way the vines
and the cattle inhabit the same ground at the
Cailleaus' estate. § Schatzi, Milan, NY
2019 Menetou-Salon Rouge (BEST BUY) ^
" Structurally, this is built for the long run, "
said Jonathan Eichholz of NYC's The Modern,
struck by the high acidity in this pinot
noir. Thierry Merlet makes this wine from
fruit grown in Morogues and Humbligny. He
gives it twelve hours on its skins before fermentation
starts in stainless steel tanks. Eichholz
is right-it'll take a cocktail shaker or a
few days of air to open it up now, the flavors
muted at first if not completely absent from
the front. The finish is long, and a few hours
of air reveal cherry and basil jam, crunchy
pomegranate seed and firm raspberry flavors.
At this price, it's hard not to argue for
a case, popping corks and tracking development
over the next decade. § Vineyard Brands,
Birmingham, AL
CHINON
93 | Alain de la Treille
$25
2020 Chinon Cabernet Franc (BEST BUY) ^
Noël Bougrier and his son, Nicolas, manage
this expansive estate of 247 acres across
the Loire Valley. Lionel Métaireau makes
the wines, including this textbook cabernet
franc. The violet color might catch your eye
before you even smell the slightly herbal,
red-fruited aromas. " Chinon is like Bordeaux
light, " one taster said, describing how
the flavors dance from plum skin to cassis, to
game, earth and tobacco, all with a delicacy
that speaks of the village's cool conditions. §
Kysela Père et Fils, Winchester, VA
78
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