Notify me
2023 Cheverny
Domaine du SalvardAt twenty-three, I was given the opportunity to build the wine list at a bustling French seafood restaurant in Brooklyn. I had fallen in love with the menu the first time I’d dined there: fresh East and West Coast oysters, moules marinières, daily fish specials like seared sea scallops with fennel and grapefruit salad, whole roasted branzino... It was here I tasted my first Cheverny, a Loire white rife with herbs, citrus, and minerality—a perfect pairing for briny treats from the sea, often tempered by rich European butter. Naturally, the bottle promptly became a crowd (and staff) favorite.
In the years that followed, between leaving the restaurant and arriving at Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, I never encountered another Cheverny quite as memorable. Imagine my delight when, at an early staff tasting, we opened this bottle from Domaine du Salvard. Fresh, lively, and full of zest, it transported me back through time. This is truly singular Sauvignon Blanc with saline notes and whiffs of sage, rounded out with a luxurious splash of Chardonnay. But what’s really remarkable is the energetic rush of youth it contains—scents of summery, ripe tomato vines, and seasons of life that leave you forever changed.
—Allyson Noman
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2023 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | 85% Sauvignon Blanc, 15% Chardonnay |
Appellation: | Cheverny |
Country: | France |
Region: | Loire |
Producer: | Domaine du Salvard |
Winemaker: | Emmanuel & Thierry Delaille |
Vineyard: | 10 - 65 years |
Soil: | Chalk, Limestone, Sand |
Farming: | Lutte Raisonnée |
Alcohol: | 12.5% |
More from this Producer or Region
2019 Chinon “Clos du Chêne Vert”
France | Loire
Chinons from Joguet are known for their firm minerality, but this one is quite charming as well, with plummy black fruit, myrtle, and notes of warm licorice.
2022 Quincy “Château de Quincy”
France | Loire
This is Sauvignon Blanc unlike any others in the world: textured, lush, full of aromatic gooseberry and passionfruit—all supported by spiny minerality.
2019 Bourgueil “Les Perrières”
France | Loire
There isn’t a spot in the world better suited for Cabernet Franc, and their old vines produce the raw material for one of the best reds in the Loire valley.
2018 Vin de France Rouge Grolleau/Cabernet Franc
France | Loire
The fruit is concentrated, deep, and pure, suggesting wild brambles and tart blackberries, along with an earthy, spicy component and hints of cedar.
2022 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie
France | Loire
It fills the mouth with suspicions of honeysuckle and pulpy stone fruits, all while maintaining classic notes of iodine and sea breeze that make this the vinous equivalent of tidepooling.
2022 Val de Loire Sauvignon Blanc “Unique”
France | Loire
Lime blossoms delivered via a lightning bolt of minerally refreshment.
2019 Chinon “Clos de la Dioterie”
France | Loire
Age-worthy red from one of Chinon’s top sites, by a storied domaine.
2022 Cheverny
France | Loire
Sauvignon and a splash of Chardonnay: the epitome of minerally Loire refreshment
2022 Cheverny Rosé
France | Loire
April Club Gourmand ~ Domaine du Salvard’s rosé of Pinot Noir and Gamay is what I think of as “perfect lunchtime wine”—youthful red berries and a refreshing zip of citrus lend themselves well to just about any fare.
2019 Vouvray “Bois Guyon”
France | Loire
For this Vouvray, Paul has opted for a demi-sec style utterly unique in its combination of honeyed richness and flinty verve. This bottling is hard to resist on its own, but you might also try serving it with a simple cheese platter.
About The Producer
Domaine du Salvard
About The Region
Loire
The defining feature of the Loire Valley, not surprisingly, is the Loire River. As the longest river in France, spanning more than 600 miles, this river connects seemingly disparate wine regions. Why else would Sancerre, with its Kimmeridgian limestone terroir be connected to Muscadet, an appellation that is 250 miles away?
Secondary in relevance to the historical, climatic, environmental, and cultural importance of the river are the wines and châteaux of the Jardin de la France. The kings and nobility of France built many hundreds of châteaux in the Loire but wine preceded the arrival of the noblesse and has since out-lived them as well.
Diversity abounds in the Loire. The aforementioned Kimmderidgian limestone of Sancerre is also found in Chablis. Chinon, Bourgueil, and Saumur boast the presence of tuffeau, a type of limestone unique to the Loire that has a yellowish tinge and a chalky texture. Savennières has schist, while Muscadet has volcanic, granite, and serpentinite based soils. In addition to geologic diversity, many, grape varieties are grown there too: Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, and Melon de Bourgogne are most prevalent, but (to name a few) Pinot Gris, Grolleau, Pinot Noir, Pineau d’Aunis, and Folle Blanche are also planted. These myriad of viticultural influences leads to the high quality production of every type of wine: red, white, rosé, sparkling, and dessert.
Like the Rhône and Provence, some of Kermit’s first imports came from the Loire, most notably the wines of Charles Joguet and Château d’Epiré—two producers who are featured in Kermit’s book Adventures on the Wine Route and with whom we still work today.
More from Loire or France
2020 Vin de France Rouge Cabernet Franc “Huguette”
Grange Saint Sauveur France | Loire
2022 Bourgueil Rosé “La Ritournelle”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2018 Saumur Blanc “Le Clos du Moulin”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2022 Sancerre Rosé “Le Colombier”
Domaine Roger Neveu France | Loire
2020 Sancerre “Hameau de Reigny”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2020 Saumur Blanc “L’Échelier”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2020 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Clisson “La Molette”
Domaine Michel Brégeon France | Loire
2018 Saumur Blanc “L’Échelier”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2020 Saumur-Champigny “Franc de Pied”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2021 Saumur Champigny “Terres Chaudes”
Domaine des Roches Neuves France | Loire
2022 Quincy “Vieilles Vignes”
Domaine Trotereau France | Loire
2021 Vin de France Blanc “Centenaire”
Grange Saint-Sauveur France | Loire
2020 Vin de France Rouge Cabernet Franc “Huguette”
Grange Saint Sauveur France | Loire
2022 Bourgueil Rosé “La Ritournelle”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2018 Saumur Blanc “Le Clos du Moulin”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2022 Sancerre Rosé “Le Colombier”
Domaine Roger Neveu France | Loire
2020 Sancerre “Hameau de Reigny”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2020 Saumur Blanc “L’Échelier”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2020 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Clisson “La Molette”
Domaine Michel Brégeon France | Loire
2018 Saumur Blanc “L’Échelier”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2020 Saumur-Champigny “Franc de Pied”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2021 Saumur Champigny “Terres Chaudes”
Domaine des Roches Neuves France | Loire
2022 Quincy “Vieilles Vignes”
Domaine Trotereau France | Loire
2021 Vin de France Blanc “Centenaire”
Grange Saint-Sauveur France | Loire
Kermit once said...
Kermit once said...
For the wines that I buy I insist that the winemaker leave them whole, intact. I go into the cellars now and select specific barrels or cuvées, and I request that they be bottled without stripping them with filters or other devices. This means that many of our wines will arrive with a smudge of sediment and will throw a more important deposit as time goes by, It also means the wine will taste better.