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A Truly Singular Sauvignon Blanc
A Truly Singular Sauvignon Blanc
by Allyson Noman by Allyson Noman
2022 Cheverny
2022 Cheverny


Emmanuel & Thierry Delaille
Domaine du Salvard France | Loire | Cheverny
At twenty-three, I was given the opportunity to build the wine list at a bustling French seafood restaurant in Brooklyn. I had fallen in love with the menu the first time I’d dined there: fresh East and West Coast oysters, moules marinières, daily fish specials like seared sea scallops with fennel and grapefruit salad, whole roasted branzino... It was here I tasted my first Cheverny, a Loire white rife with herbs, citrus, and minerality—a perfect pairing for briny treats from the sea, often tempered by rich European butter. Naturally, the bottle promptly became a crowd (and staff) favorite.
In the years that followed, between leaving the restaurant and arriving at Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, I never encountered another Cheverny quite as memorable. Imagine my delight when, at an early staff tasting, we opened this bottle from Domaine du Salvard. Fresh, lively, and full of zest, it transported me back through time. This is truly singular Sauvignon Blanc with saline notes and whiffs of sage, rounded out with a luxurious splash of Chardonnay. But what’s really remarkable is the energetic rush of youth it contains—scents of summery, ripe tomato vines, and seasons of life that leave you forever changed.


Emmanuel & Thierry Delaille
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2022 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | 85% Sauvignon Blanc, 15% Chardonnay |
Appellation: | Cheverny |
Country: | France |
Region: | Loire |
Producer: | Domaine du Salvard |
Winemaker: | Emmanuel & Thierry Delaille |
Vineyard: | 10 - 65 years |
Soil: | Chalk, Limestone, Sand |
Farming: | Lutte Raisonnée |
Alcohol: | 12.5% |
More from this Producer or Region

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2022 Jasnières
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2020 Saumur-Champigny “Franc de Pied”
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2021 Chinon “Beaux Monts”
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Sourced from the village of Beaumont, located within the Chinon AOC, it is utterly delicious, with a perfect balance of fruit and earth.

2021 Quincy
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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.

2021 Muscadet “Le Clos de la Butte”
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Crafted less than 20 miles from the Atlantic coast, 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.

2021 Bourgueil “Franc de Pied”
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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.

2020 Sancerre Champs d'Alligny
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Previously blended into the domaine’s Sancerre rouge, the Champs d’Alligny is now its own bottling, a successful experiment if there ever was one.

2020 Saumur-Champigny “Terres Chaudes”
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Thierry has perfected the art of coaxing this Cabernet Franc’s soulfulness and elusive finesse into bottle.
About The Producer
Domaine du Salvard
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
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2021 Pouilly-Fumé “Vieilles Vignes”
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2020 Saumur Champigny “Clos de l’Échelier”
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2021 Bourgueil “Cuvée Alouettes”
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2018 Saumur Blanc “Clos Romans”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2022 Menetou-Salon Blanc “Le Prieuré”
Prieuré de Saint-Céols France | Loire
Vouvray Brut “La Dilettante”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2019 Saumur Blanc “L’Insolite”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2022 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie
Domaine Michel Brégeon France | Loire
2020 Chinon
Bernard Baudry France | Loire
2020 Saumur-Champigny “Franc de Pied”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2021 Pouilly-Fumé “Vieilles Vignes”
Régis Minet France | Loire
2021 Sancerre “Cuvée Marcel Henri”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2020 Bourgeuil “Cuvée Beauvais”
Domaine de la Chanteleuserie France | Loire
2020 Saumur Champigny “Clos de l’Échelier”
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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