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2023 Cheverny
Domaine du SalvardAt 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.
—Allyson Noman
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2023 |
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% |
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Sauvignon and a splash of Chardonnay: the epitome of minerally Loire refreshment
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.
2022 Val de Loire Sauvignon Blanc “Unique”
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2020 Vin de France Rouge Cabernet Franc “Huguette”
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This wine in the Breton book is a pure old-vine Grolleau from soils of clay and silex.
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
2022 Chinon “Les Granges”
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2019 Saumur Blanc “L’Insolite”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2020 Sancerre Champs d’Alligny
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2019 Vouvray “Bois Guyon”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2022 Chinon Blanc
Bernard Baudry France | Loire
2022 Chardonnay
Eric Chevalier France | Loire
2021 Bourgueil “La Dilettante”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2021 Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil “Irène”
Domaine de la Chanteleuserie France | Loire
Vouvray Brut
Champalou France | Loire
2022 Val de Loire Rouge Grolleau
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2018 Vouvray “La Moelleuse”
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2016 Chinon “Les Petites Roches” MAGNUM
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2022 Chinon “Les Granges”
Bernard Baudry France | Loire
2019 Saumur Blanc “L’Insolite”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2020 Sancerre Champs d’Alligny
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2019 Vouvray “Bois Guyon”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2022 Chinon Blanc
Bernard Baudry France | Loire
2022 Chardonnay
Eric Chevalier France | Loire
2021 Bourgueil “La Dilettante”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2021 Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil “Irène”
Domaine de la Chanteleuserie France | Loire
Vouvray Brut
Champalou France | Loire
2022 Val de Loire Rouge Grolleau
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2018 Vouvray “La Moelleuse”
Champalou France | Loire
2016 Chinon “Les Petites Roches” MAGNUM
Charles Joguet France | Loire
Kermit once said...
Kermit once said...
Let the brett nerds retire into protective bubbles, and whenever they thirst for wine it can be passed in to them through a sterile filter. Those of us on the outside can continue to enjoy complex, natural, living wines.
Inspiring Thirst, page 236