Notify me
2021 Pouilly-Fumé “Vieilles Vignes”
Régis Minet
Sauvignon Blanc has many incarnations throughout the world, but even in the Loire Valley—the grape’s spiritual home—Pouilly Fumé represents a very distinctive example. While it shares the Kimmeridgian limestone of its neighbor Sancerre, its soils also contain fragments of flint, which are presumably responsible for Pouilly Fumé’s characteristic goût de pierre à fusil, or gunflint taste. Régis Minet, a second-generation vigneron who already boasts almost forty harvests under his belt, is always happy to demonstrate how striking together two pieces of flint from his vineyard creates the smoky gunflint aroma typically associated with the wine. A generous host, Régis is known to greet his guests with cornucopian platters of locally produced meats and Loire goat cheeses. Not surprisingly, his lively, crisp, floral, and beautifully mineral Pouilly Fumé is the quintessential foil to savory slices of saucisson and a sticky Crottin de Chavignol.
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2021 |
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: | 12.5% |
More from this Producer or Region

2022 Chinon “Cuvée Terroir”
France | Loire
The perfect combination of tart red fruit, herbaceousness, and graphite earthiness.

2023 Saumur Blanc “L’Insolite”
France | Loire
Made from nearly hundred-year-old vines, this a great initiation into the world of Thierry’s white wines.

2022 Bourgueil Clairet “Avis de Vin Fort”
France | Loire
Fresh and punchy Cabernet Franc from fun-loving Catherine and Pierre Breton. Light, juicy, and ready to go. Drink young, drink chilled, drink plenty.

2023 Pouilly-Fumé “Vieilles Vignes”
France | Loire
Sauvignon Blanc has many incarnations throughout the world, but even in the Loire Valley—the grape’s spiritual home—Pouilly Fumé represents a very distinctive example.

2019 Bourgueil “Les Perrières”
France | Loire
The family’s grandest wine, a brooding elixir of satiny fruit, cedar, and graphite.

2023 Quincy
France | Loire
You’ll appreciate the distinctive flavor profile: born from warmer soils, it tastes of ripe, succulent citrus devoid of grassiness, while boasting the same flinty nerve as a good Sancerre.

2023 Chinon Rosé
France | Loire
One of the first rosés Kermit imported, this wine has been consistently delicious for four decades.

2021 Saumur Champigny “Terres Chaudes”
France | Loire
Thierry has perfected the art of coaxing this Cabernet Franc’s soulfulness and elusive finesse into bottle.

2022 Sancerre “Les Coutones”
France | Loire
A fleshy, full-bodied Sancerre with great freshness and the ability to age in bottle for a few years after release.

2018 Saumur Blanc “L’Échelier”
France | Loire
This chiseled Chenin Blanc comes from 70-year-old vines planted on an ancient limestone slope. Burgundian-like in character from its time spent in barrel, the laser-like acidity will become even more enticing with some age.
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.
More from Loire or France
2023 Vin de France Brut Nature “Elle est pas bulle, la vie?”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2024 Bourgueil Rosé “La Ritournelle”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2021 Chinon “La Croix Boissée”
Bernard Baudry France | Loire
2020 Sancerre Rouge "Champs d’Alligny"
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2022 Jasnières “Cuvée Sainte Narcisse”
Pascal Janvier France | Loire
2023 Savennières
Château d’Epiré France | Loire
2023 Menetou-Salon Blanc “Le Prieuré”
Prieuré de Saint Céols France | Loire
2022 Chinon “Les Grézeaux”
Bernard Baudry France | Loire
2021 Chinon Blanc “Les Charmes”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2022 Sancerre Rouge
Domaine Hippolyte Reverdy France | Loire
Vouvray Brut “La Dilettante”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2020 Saumur Blanc “L’Échelier”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2023 Vin de France Brut Nature “Elle est pas bulle, la vie?”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2024 Bourgueil Rosé “La Ritournelle”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2021 Chinon “La Croix Boissée”
Bernard Baudry France | Loire
2020 Sancerre Rouge "Champs d’Alligny"
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2022 Jasnières “Cuvée Sainte Narcisse”
Pascal Janvier France | Loire
2023 Savennières
Château d’Epiré France | Loire
2023 Menetou-Salon Blanc “Le Prieuré”
Prieuré de Saint Céols France | Loire
2022 Chinon “Les Grézeaux”
Bernard Baudry France | Loire
2021 Chinon Blanc “Les Charmes”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2022 Sancerre Rouge
Domaine Hippolyte Reverdy France | Loire
Vouvray Brut “La Dilettante”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2020 Saumur Blanc “L’Échelier”
Thierry Germain 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