2022 ChevernyDomaine du Salvard
France | Loire
$22
Producers
Thierry’s Saumurs honor the great Chenin Blanc grape. He vinifies them dry and never uses any new oak, so they contain very little artifice from residual sugar or barrel aging. Each wine is a crystal-clear translation of the underlying terroir. Unique compared to the other great Loire Chenins—Savennières, Vouvray, Montlouis, Jasnières—Saumur is noble, elegant, vertical, and imposing. Thierry’s seventy-year-old vines are planted on an ancient limestone plateau with remnants of viticulture dating back more than three hundred years. This downright Burgundian wine shows off the savory spine and weightless concentration imparted by this particular site.
—Dixon Brooke
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2017 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Chenin Blanc |
Appellation: | Saumur |
Country: | France |
Region: | Loire |
Producer: | Thierry Germain |
Winemaker: | Thierry Germain |
Vineyard: | 70 years, 1 ha |
Soil: | Clay, Turonien Supérieur Limestone |
Aging: | Aged on fine lees in 600L demi-muid for 9 months |
Farming: | Biodynamic (certified) |
Alcohol: | 13% |
Thierry Germain France | Loire | Saumur-Champigny
Thierry Germain France | Loire | Saumur
Thierry Germain France | Loire | Saumur-Champigny
Thierry Germain France | Loire | Saumur
Thierry Germain France | Loire | Saumur
Thierry Germain France | Loire | Saumur
Thierry relocated to the Loire from Bordeaux in the early 1990s, and soon fell under the influence of his spiritual father, Charly Foucault of Clos Rougeard. Thierry would ultimately convert his entire domaine to biodynamic viticulture, which was the equivalent of his wine epiphany. Listening and observing his plants, allowing them to guide him, revolutionized his way of thinking. Thierry harvests on the relatively early side to preserve fresh, vibrant fruit. His goal is to produce Cabernet with purity, finesse, and drinkability, while avoiding rusticity, vegetal character, and hard tannins. When it comes to his Chenin, he makes bone dry, high acid, mineral wines that drink like Chablis young and take on weight slowly over time. Aging takes place in large oval foudres (for the whites) and round foudres and demi-muids (for the reds) in Thierry’s frigid tuffeau cellars below his winery in Varrains. His incredibly diverse terroirs are translated with utter clarity and precision.
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.
Bernard Baudry France | Loire | Chinon
Éric Chevalier France | Loire | Vin de Pays du Val de Loire
Thierry Germain France | Loire | Saumur
Thierry Germain France | Loire | Saumur
Domaine Michel Brégeon France | Loire | Muscadet
Thierry Germain France | Loire | Saumur
Grange Saint-Sauveur France | Loire | Vin de France
Daniel Chotard France | Loire | Sancerre
Thierry Germain France | Loire | Saumur-Champigny
Régis Minet France | Loire | Pouilly Fumé
Bernard Baudry France | Loire | Chinon
Trust the great winemakers, trust the great vineyards. Your wine merchant might even be trustworthy. In the long run, that vintage strip may be the least important guide to quality on your bottle of wine.—Kermit Lynch
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