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Loire Whites for the Ages: Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, & Melon

Loire Whites for the Ages: Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, & Melon

In summer, Loire Valley whites are opened with abandon. And, there's no region in the world for whites that offers diversity and value quite like this stretch from the Atlantic ocean east into Sancerre. Today, I'm focusing on the three varieties from elite producers that offer aging capabilities that will make you think twice about only opening upon release.

In the right hands and proper terroir Sauvignon Blanc can age with the best of them. Chavignol is always an emphasis of mine in this cellar-worthy category. But, Vacheron's 2016 Les Romains and Chambrates equally embody the best of what's yet to come in bottle development from Sancerre.

Within Chenin Blanc, cool new kids like Olivier Lejeune (Clos des Plantes), Guyonne Saclier de la Bâtie (Chateau de Bonnezeaux), and Benoit Courault are the best names you've never heard of, and I cannot recommend them enough - Want to know why sommeliers and wine geeks are as excited about Anjou as anywhere in France? It's because of the magic brew these three are putting into bottle. Of course, tried and true names like Nicholas Joly Coulée de Serrant are listed below from 1981 to 2016. And, Thierry Germain's crisp and chiseled Chenins from Saumur are perfectly juxtaposed with Guiberteau's more opulent expression of this limestone slope.

Finally, you cannot speak of Loire Valley & value without mentioning the Melon de Bourgogne grape and Muscadet. Jerome Bretaudeau is the best name you're not familiar with yet, and if push comes to shove, I'd have to say his "Gaia Cuvée Ovoide" is the greatest bottle of Melon de Bourgogne I've ever had - completely seamless and ethereal, this goes down in a hurry.

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