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2023 Chardonnay
Eric Chevalier


Chevalier’s vines


If there existed a “Chablis School of Chardonnay,” Loire Valley vigneron Eric Chevalier would have graduated top of his class. A Pays Nantais native and Muscadet specialist, Eric’s veins practically course with chiseled and saline white wine, so his affinity for Chablisien Chardonnay is not surprising. But he also spent some formative time in the 1990s in Burgundy’s northern outpost, having helped make his first wines as an apprentice there. Accordingly, when he returned to his corner of the western Loire Valley, he brought some of that Chablisien spirit back to his Chardonnay vines in the Pays Nantais.
This is not, of course, to say that Eric makes Chablis. His expression is entirely unique: almost a mix of Chardonnay and Muscadet’s most alluring qualities, with its blend of orchard fruit, lemon and lime notes, stones, and a whisper of brine. But what makes his approach so Chablisien is that, in his hands, Chardonnay is merely a medium for his unique terroir. In other words, this wine is much more about the Pays Nantais’s maritime air and soil than any specific characteristics widely associated with the grape.
It’s no surprise then that on more than one occasion, someone has told me, “I usually don’t like Chardonnay, but I really enjoy this.” It’s incredibly pure, delicious, and a sip feels like an invigorating plunge in the cold, nearby Atlantic.
—Tom Wolf
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2023 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Chardonnay |
Appellation: | Vin de Pays du Val de Loire |
Country: | France |
Region: | Loire |
Producer: | Eric Chevalier |
Vineyard: | 10 - 15 years, 3 ha |
Soil: | Serpentinite, eclogite, quartz |
Farming: | Organic (certified) |
Alcohol: | 11.5% |
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About The Producer
Eric Chevalier
Eric Chevalier is a rising star in the Nantais of the Loire Valley. For ten years, he sourced fruit for a large négociant in the Touraine. In 2005, he returned to his hometown of Saint-Philbert de Grandlieu and ended up taking over the family domaine, Domaine de l’Aujardière. His father, a talented vigneron well-known as a high-quality source of bulk wine, had stopped working the vineyards and the vines were going to have to be pulled up and replanted or sold. Eric was anything but enthusiastic. Little by little his passion grew, and today he is proud to be the 4th generation to farm the domaine. Eric sustainably farms 25 hectares of vines, producing wines of great character and finesse. He found his future in his family’s past.
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.
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Kermit once said...

Kermit once said...
For the wines that I buy I insist that the winemaker leave them whole, intact. I go into the cellars now and select specific barrels or cuvées, and I request that they be bottled without stripping them with filters or other devices. This means that many of our wines will arrive with a smudge of sediment and will throw a more important deposit as time goes by, It also means the wine will taste better.