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2018 Chardonnay
Éric Chevalier
Some wines deliver well beyond expectations and the Chevalier Chardonnay is one of them.
The Loire Valley, with its near overabundance of top-quality and well-priced wines, is a veritable trove of value. It’s just hard to go wrong there. Looking for a white or red for the cellar? Try Savennières or Chinon. Perhaps you’d enjoy a bottle that has already been aged for you. Our Loire producers often hold back large portions of vintages to sell them in the future (hint… stay tuned for an email coming later in August). Sparkling, still, or sweet, the Loire delivers and therefore it’s no surprise that our top Chardonnay value doesn’t come from Burgundy, but from Éric Chevalier and his domaine on the western edge of the Loire Valley, not far from the Atlantic Ocean.
In this land of châteaux and sea breezes, Chardonnay soaks in the complex minerals of this region’s soils. Though you might be hard-pressed to point out the specific flavor of Serpentinite in a wine, this bottling has a distinct mineral aroma, like fresh rain on the rocky shores of a mountain river. But perhaps the most distinct characteristic of Éric’s Chardonnay is intrinsic to the grape itself. Good Chardonnay has texture and grain and that’s what you have here—it sinks into the palate and lasts and lasts.
Some wines deliver well beyond expectations and the Chevalier Chardonnay is one of them.
—Clark Z. Terry
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2018 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Chardonnay |
Appellation: | Vin de Pays du Val de Loire |
Country: | France |
Region: | Loire |
Producer: | Éric Chevalier |
Winemaker: | Éric Chevalier |
Vineyard: | 10 - 15 years, 3 ha |
Soil: | Serpentinite, eclogite, quartz |
Farming: | Organic (practicing) |
Alcohol: | 11.5% |
More from this Producer or Region

2021 Chinon “La Croix Boissée”
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2015 Chinon “Les Petites Roches” MAGNUM
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2024 Bourgueil Rosé “La Ritournelle”
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2020 Chinon “Les Varennes du Grand Clos”
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2023 Muscadet “Le Clos de la Butte”
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This exquisite Muscadet is a perfect reflection of where it originates, as if it’s been sculpted by winds off the ocean and infused with hints of sea salt in the air.

2023 Vouvray “Pierres Rousses”
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2023 Menetou-Salon Blanc “Le Prieuré”
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2022 Quincy “Vieilles Vignes”
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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 Kimmeridgian 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
2023 Muscadet “Le Clos de la Butte”
Eric Chevalier France | Loire
2021 Chinon “La Croix Boissée”
Bernard Baudry France | Loire
2024 Sancerre Rosé
Domaine Roger Neveu France | Loire
2023 Chinon “Les Petites Roches” Blanc
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2021 Saumur Champigny “Terres Chaudes”
Domaine des Roches Neuves France | Loire
2020 Vin de France Blanche
Domaine Michel Brégeon France | Loire
2023 Saumur Mousseux “Bulles de Roche”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2021 Bourgueil “Clos Sénéchal”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2022 Quincy “Vieilles Vignes”
Domaine Trotereau France | Loire
2022 Chinon “Les Petites Roches”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2020 Chinon “Clos de la Dioterie”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2023 Sancerre Rouge
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2023 Muscadet “Le Clos de la Butte”
Eric Chevalier France | Loire
2021 Chinon “La Croix Boissée”
Bernard Baudry France | Loire
2024 Sancerre Rosé
Domaine Roger Neveu France | Loire
2023 Chinon “Les Petites Roches” Blanc
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2021 Saumur Champigny “Terres Chaudes”
Domaine des Roches Neuves France | Loire
2020 Vin de France Blanche
Domaine Michel Brégeon France | Loire
2023 Saumur Mousseux “Bulles de Roche”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2021 Bourgueil “Clos Sénéchal”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2022 Quincy “Vieilles Vignes”
Domaine Trotereau France | Loire
2022 Chinon “Les Petites Roches”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2020 Chinon “Clos de la Dioterie”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2023 Sancerre Rouge
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
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