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Elegant, Mineral Sauvignon Blanc from Pouilly-Fumé
Elegant, Mineral Sauvignon Blanc from Pouilly-Fumé
by Jane Berg by Jane Berg
2017 Pouilly-Fumé “Vieilles Vignes”
2017 Pouilly-Fumé “Vieilles Vignes”
Régis Minet’s vines in Pouilly-Fumé
Régis Minet France | Loire | Pouilly Fumé
My colleagues and I used to stack large volumes of wine for our consumption in the naturally cool, pebbled cellar below our Beaune office on Cour des Chartreux—a bygone luxury now that I live in a studio in Brooklyn. We’d order Minet’s Pouilly-Fumé by the case as an alternative to the Bourgogne blancs we’d become accustomed to. Grown in Kimmeridgian soil and made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc, Pouilly-Fumé will never shake the comparison to neighboring Sancerre. But I find Minet’s to be unmistakably Burgundian: less pungent and creamier than Sancerre, with the refined mineral texture of polished stone.
Régis Minet’s vines in Pouilly-Fumé
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2017 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Sauvignon Blanc |
Appellation: | Pouilly Fumé |
Country: | France |
Region: | Loire |
Producer: | Régis Minet |
Winemaker: | Régis Minet |
Vineyard: | 25 - 30 years, 10 ha |
Soil: | Clay, Marl, Kimmeridgian Limestone |
Aging: | Wine ages for 6 months on fine lees in stainless steel. Depending on the vintage, the lees are stirred two to three times during this time |
Farming: | Lutte Raisonnée |
Alcohol: | 13% |
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About The Producer
Régis Minet
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.
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Sampler Includes:
Vouvray Brut • Champalou $31
2022 Chardonnay • Eric Chevalier $23
2022 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie • Domaine Michel Brégeon $23
2022 Pouilly-Fumé “Vieilles Vignes” • Régis Minet $34
2022 Reuilly Pinot Gris Rosé • Domaine de Reuilly $24
2022 Chinon Rosé • Bernard Baudry $27
2022 Coteaux du Loir Rouge “Cuvée du Rosier” • Pascal Janvier $26
2021 Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil “Irène” • Domaine de la Chanteleuserie $24
2021 Chinon “Cuvée Terroir” • Charles Joguet $31
2022 Bourgueil Clairet “Avis de Vin Fort” • Catherine & Pierre Breton $31
2022 Saumur Champigny “Cuvée Domaine” • Thierry Germain $34
2022 Vin de France Rouge “Le Martray” • Grange Saint Sauveur $49
Normally $356.00
SPECIAL SAMPLER PRICE $267.00
(a 25% discount)
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2022 Bourgueil “Trinch!”
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2020 Sancerre Champs d’Alligny
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2022 Anjou Rouge “Clos de la Cerisaie”
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2021 Sancerre “Racines”
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2021 Bourgeuil “Cuvée Beauvais”
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2020 Chinon “La Croix Boissée”
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2022 Chinon Blanc
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Loire Valley Farmers’ Market
This delectable 12-pack puts the Loire’s abundant viticultural diversity on full display: sparkling Chenin Blanc, plus crisp and mineral Melon de Bourgogne, and more.
2022 Chinon Rosé
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2021 Val de Loire Blanc “Cirrus”
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2022 Bourgueil “Trinch!”
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Where the newsletter started
Where the newsletter started
Every three or four months I would send my clients a cheaply made list of my inventory, but it began to dawn on me that business did not pick up afterwards. It occurred to me that my clientele might not know what Château Grillet is, either. One month in 1974 I had an especially esoteric collection of wines arriving, so I decided to put a short explanation about each wine into my price list, to try and let my clients know what to expect when they uncorked a bottle. The day after I mailed that brochure, people showed up at the shop, and that is how these little propaganda pieces for fine wine were born.—Kermit Lynch