Notify me
2018 Savennières “Cuvée Spéciale”
Château d’Épiré![- Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant](https://s3.amazonaws.com/efcheckout/kermitlynch/products/Kermit-Lynch-Wine-Merchant-2018-Savennires-Cuve-Spciale-product-image-3654-medium.jpg)
In his book Adventures, Kermit outlines the magic of old-school Savennières, aged in chestnut casks. The rise of stainless steel sadly put many such coopers out of business, but fortunately the team at Château d’Épiré can still count on one reliable chestnut purveyor. This material is an excellent match for schist-born Chenin Blanc, as it accentuates the wine’s stony austerity without imparting any woody flavor. The 2018 blend also includes a couple barrels each of acacia, highlighting Chenin’s subtle floral tendencies, and old oak, exalting its fleshy structure with nary a hint of vanilla or toast. With a rigid backbone of acidity and a bone-dry finish recalling fresh walnuts, this is quintessential Savennières.
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2018 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Chenin Blanc |
Appellation: | Savennières |
Country: | France |
Region: | Loire |
Winemaker: | Luc Bizard |
Vineyard: | Planted in 1989, 1.5 ha |
Soil: | Schist |
Aging: | Ages for about 6 months sur lie in very old chestnut demi-muids |
Farming: | Lutte Raisonnée |
Alcohol: | 13.5% |
More from this Producer or Region
![2023 Val de Loire Sauvignon Blanc “Unique” Domaine du Salvard](http://s3.amazonaws.com/efcheckout/kermitlynch/products/Kermit-Lynch-Wine-Merchant-2023-Val-de-Loire-Sauvignon-Blanc-Unique-product-image-9150-medium.jpg)
2023 Val de Loire Sauvignon Blanc “Unique”
France | Loire
June Club Gourmand ~ Lime blossoms delivered via a lightning bolt of minerally refreshment.
![2023 Sancerre Rosé Domaine Roger Neveu](http://s3.amazonaws.com/efcheckout/kermitlynch/products/Kermit-Lynch-Wine-Merchant-2023-Sancerre-Ros-product-image-9433-medium.jpg)
2023 Sancerre Rosé
France | Loire
Sancerre Rosé is made from Pinot Noir grown in Kimmeridgian limestone soil, and the Neveu family’s interpretation is fine, floral, crisp, and bone-dry.
![2022 Chardonnay Eric Chevalier](http://s3.amazonaws.com/efcheckout/kermitlynch/products/Kermit-Lynch-Wine-Merchant-2022-Chardonnay-product-image-8435-medium.jpg)
2022 Chardonnay
France | Loire
Some wines deliver well beyond expectations—this is one of them.
![Vouvray Brut Champalou](http://s3.amazonaws.com/efcheckout/kermitlynch/products/Kermit-Lynch-Wine-Merchant-Vouvray-Brut-product-image-8310-medium.jpg)
Vouvray Brut
France | Loire
From clay and limestone vineyards, they are able to obtain remarkable complexity in their Brut, while the texture shows both a creamy richness and an austere minerality.
![2018 Sancerre “Cuvée Ortus” Hippolyte Reverdy](http://s3.amazonaws.com/efcheckout/kermitlynch/products/Kermit-Lynch-Wine-Merchant-2018-Sancerre-Cuve-Ortus-product-image-9517-medium.jpg)
2018 Sancerre “Cuvée Ortus”
France | Loire
The rarest of the Reverdy cuvées, Ortus was really an invention at the urging of Kermit, who has a fondness for Sauvignon with full malolactic fermentation, aged in wood, bottled unfiltered, generally treated like a white Burgundy.
![2020 Saumur-Champigny “Les Mémoires” Thierry Germain](http://s3.amazonaws.com/efcheckout/kermitlynch/products/Kermit-Lynch-Wine-Merchant-2020-Saumur-Champigny-Les-Mmoires-product-image-6004-medium.jpg)
2020 Saumur-Champigny “Les Mémoires”
France | Loire
Sourced from 110+ year-old vines, this is hands-down one of the best Cab Francs being made in the Loire Valley today.
![2023 Sancerre Domaine Roger Neveu](http://s3.amazonaws.com/efcheckout/kermitlynch/products/Kermit-Lynch-Wine-Merchant-2023-Sancerre-Cte-des-Embouffants-product-image-9643-medium.jpg)
2023 Sancerre
France | Loire
Textbook Sancerre: bright and citrusy, with a clean, stony finish.
![2019 Vouvray “Bois Guyon” Catherine & Pierre Breton](http://s3.amazonaws.com/efcheckout/kermitlynch/products/Kermit-Lynch-Wine-Merchant-2019-Vouvray-Bois-Guyon-product-image-8196-medium.jpg)
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.
![2021 Bourgueil “Franc de Pied” Catherine & Pierre Breton](http://s3.amazonaws.com/efcheckout/kermitlynch/products/Kermit-Lynch-Wine-Merchant-2021-Bourgueil-Franc-de-Pied-product-image-7041-medium.jpg)
2021 Bourgueil “Franc de Pied”
France | Loire
Serve it with a slight chill, and you’ll have a satisfyingly fresh red with medium fruit and a light dusting of herbs and tannin.
![2021 Chinon Bernard Baudry](http://s3.amazonaws.com/efcheckout/kermitlynch/products/Kermit-Lynch-Wine-Merchant-2021-Chinon-product-image-7934-medium.jpg)
2021 Chinon
France | Loire
It is fresh and buoyant enough for casual fare yet has the stuffing to accompany heartier dishes, while its vivid raspberry fruit makes it extremely approachable today, notwithstanding its medium-term aging potential.
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
2022 Sancerre Rouge
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2019 Bourgueil “Clos Sénéchal”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2020 Saumur Champigny “La Marginale”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2020 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Clisson “La Molette”
Domaine Michel Brégeon France | Loire
2020 Saumur-Champigny “Franc de Pied”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2021 Bourgueil “Clos Sénéchal”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2020 Vouvray “La Dilettante”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2021 Bourgueil “La Dilettante”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2023 Val de Loire Sauvignon Blanc “Unique”
Domaine du Salvard France | Loire
2021 Val de Loire Blanc “Cirrus”
Éric Chevalier France | Loire
2022 Vin de France Brut Nature “Elle est pas bulle, la vie?”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2022 Chinon “Beaux Monts”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2022 Sancerre Rouge
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2019 Bourgueil “Clos Sénéchal”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2020 Saumur Champigny “La Marginale”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2020 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Clisson “La Molette”
Domaine Michel Brégeon France | Loire
2020 Saumur-Champigny “Franc de Pied”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2021 Bourgueil “Clos Sénéchal”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2020 Vouvray “La Dilettante”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2021 Bourgueil “La Dilettante”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2023 Val de Loire Sauvignon Blanc “Unique”
Domaine du Salvard France | Loire
2021 Val de Loire Blanc “Cirrus”
Éric Chevalier France | Loire
2022 Vin de France Brut Nature “Elle est pas bulle, la vie?”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2022 Chinon “Beaux Monts”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
Kermit once said...
![Kermit Lynch](http://s3.amazonaws.com/efcheckout/kermitlynch/content/Kermit-Lynch-Wine-Merchant-Kermit-once-said-image_img_1-13427-medium.jpeg)
Kermit once said...
You don’t have to be rich to cellar a great wine.