Gorges boasts an incredible texture and tension imparted by decomposed, blue-green igneous rock, seventy-year-old vines, and years-long aging on the lees.

Savennières is home to some of the greatest terroirs for this grape variety thanks to its soils of schist, sandstone, and blue slate and its proximity to the moderating Loire River.

This skin-contact wine is redolent of blood orange and hyssop—a perfect apéritif for olives and anchovies.

A delicate, aromatic red in the “drink now!” vein.

A fleshy, full-bodied Sancerre with great freshness and the ability to age in bottle for a few years after release.

Brisk red-fruited twang, some herbaceous zest, and an absolutely mouthwatering zingy finish.

This Saumur Champigny is electric and alive, from the first scent of roses on the nose to the juxtaposition of textured tannic grip and sheer weightlessness on the palate.

Juicy and open-knit, it mirrors the sensation of biting into fleshy slices of white peach, nectarine, and guava.

Pure, classy fruit sing tenor without any interference from the earthy bass that often makes itself heard in Bourgogne rouge.

Chinons from Joguet are known for their firm minerality, but this one is quite charming as well, with plummy black fruit, myrtle, and notes of warm licorice.

Ultra fresh and brimming with citrus blossom and orchard fruit notes, it has a saline, mineral finish that leaves my palate begging for more.

Thierry Germain’s meticulous process coaxes out the delicate and aromatic side of Chenin Blanc—think jasmine, honeysuckle, and peach.

From clay and limestone vineyards, they are able to obtain remarkable complexity in their Brut, while the texture shows both a creamy richness and an austere minerality.

When you smell it, keep in mind that no other wine, besides a Melon de Bourgogne grown in the gabbro soil of Gorges, could possibly smell like this one does.

With floral aromas and fine-grained tannins, it already showcases its charms.

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.

The family’s grandest wine, a brooding elixir of satiny fruit, cedar, and graphite.

It might be the most unusual and most delicious top-quality sweet wine you have ever tried.

Given light treatment in the cellar, this wine shows off Cabernet in its most delicate, charming form.

This wine in the Breton book is a pure old-vine Grolleau from soils of clay and silex.

Chotard has crafted a delicious, complex, and elegant rouge that gives many village Burgundies a run for their money.

This sparkling wine has decadently rich, honeyed fruit and a nice dollop of buttery brioche.

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.

Pierre’s old-vine Quincy has a mouth-coating texture and charming notes of tangerine that are certain to earn this great appellation the following it deserves.

Sourced from 110+ year-old vines, this is hands-down one of the best Cab Francs being made in the Loire Valley today.

Germain’s reds are grand examples of the heights biodynamic wines can achieve.

Dry Champagne-method sparkler that delivers tremendous value.

Fermented and aged in barrel and bottled unfiltered, it features a delightful kiss of oak on the long, bracing, mouth-watering finish.

Bottled without any sulfur whatsoever, here is a seriously playful Cab Franc from the masters of vinous fun.

Thierry has perfected the art of coaxing this Cabernet Franc’s soulfulness and elusive finesse into bottle.

The perfect combination of tart red fruit, herbaceousness, and graphite earthiness.

May Adventures Club ~ From a small but mighty appellation boasting an impressive soil loaded with fossilized oyster shells. Peachy, finely textured, and pleasantly verdant.

Intensely dry and mineral, the structured Les Arceaux is a bottle to pair with a meal rather than to drink as an apéritif.

Thierry’s Saumur Blancs are bone-dry, high-acid, mineral Chenin Blancs that drink like Chablis young and take on weight slowly over time.

A lovely combination of Grolleau Noir and Cabernet Franc, there seems to be a synergistic effect elevating both grapes to create a juicy, spicy, refreshing whole.

May Club Chevalier ~ Peppery and bright, earthy and juicy all at once.

June Club Gourmand ~ One of the first rosés Kermit imported, this wine has been consistently delicious for four decades.

Redolent of almonds, honey, and a wide range of citrus, this kaleidoscopic Chenin finishes with a faint tannin, making it ideal alongside sushi, roast chicken, or a hard and flavorful cheese like Comté.

It is fresh and buoyant enough for casual fare yet has the stuffing to accompany heartier dishes, while its vivid raspberry fruit makes it extremely approachable today, notwithstanding its medium-term aging potential.

A single-vineyard bottling whose age lends a soft, drawn butter richness to its bright, tart citrus palate.

A single-vineyard bottling whose age lends a soft, drawn butter richness to its bright, tart citrus palate.

A lovely combination of Grolleau Noir and Cabernet Franc, there seems to be a synergistic effect elevating both grapes to create a juicy, spicy, refreshing whole.

June Club Gourmand ~ Sauvignon and a splash of Chardonnay: the epitome of minerally Loire refreshment

Powerful, cellar-worthy dry Chenin aged in chestnut, oak, and acacia.

The new vintage shows great freshness and brightness, making me think of tart berries picked in the forest just a touch below full ripeness.

This divine red allies the power and finesse one would expect from this great terroir.

Outre Terre is a tiny production of Cabernet Franc fermented in amphora and aged in barrel.

Huguette is a silky, peppery Cabernet Franc from vines over a century in age.

At first, it is streamlined, saline, and full of lemon. Then the granite terroir kicks in...

Sourced from the village of Beaumont, it is utterly delicious, with a perfect balance of fruit and earth.

Age-worthy red from one of Chinon’s top sites, by a storied domaine.

Showing off Cabernet in its most delicate, charming form, rife with aromas of roses, damp earth, and little red berries.

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.

Textured, lush, full of aromatic gooseberry and passionfruit—all supported by spiny minerality.

Burgundian-like in character from its time spent in barrel, the laser-like acidity will become even more enticing with some age.

Unique in its combination of honeyed richness and flinty verve. Hard to resist on its own, but you might also try serving it with salty-sweet yakitori or buffalo chicken wings.

Fine, with bright acid, sleek silkiness, and great length, it is the most elegant of all of Thierry’s red wines.

Les Granges is the Baudry cuvée to drink in its youth, while the perfume of rose petals and brambly berries is at its most vivid and vibrant.

The family’s grandest wine, a brooding elixir of satiny fruit, cedar, and graphite.

This dry Chenin Blanc is etched from the white limestone beneath—crystalline, pure, and chiseled.

Intensely dry and mineral, the structured Les Arceaux is a bottle to pair with a meal rather than to drink as an apéritif.

It fills the mouth with suspicions of honeysuckle and pulpy stone fruits, all while maintaining classic notes of iodine and sea breeze that make this the vinous equivalent of tidepooling.

Germain’s reds are grand examples of the heights biodynamic wines can achieve.

Even though all of the wines hail from Chinon, the soil, elevation, and exposition all combine to make Le Clos Guillot their cuvée with the most finesse.

A delightfully lean and bright blanc from Charles Joguet that leaves me yearning to exclaim, “This smells like a green apple picked fresh from a lemon tree!”

Lime blossoms delivered via a lightning bolt of minerally refreshment.

Fresh and punchy Cabernet Franc from fun-loving Catherine and Pierre Breton. Light, juicy, and ready to go. Drink young, drink chilled, drink plenty.

This wine is deep and textural, with serious presence on the palate and a dry, flinty finish.

Given light treatment in the cellar, this wine shows off Cabernet in its most delicate, charming form.

Chinons from Joguet are known for their firm minerality, but this one is quite charming as well, with plummy black fruit, myrtle, and notes of warm licorice.

The Chotards are some of the lucky few who have Sancerre parcels that are ideal for growing Pinot Noir, and theirs have been planted to Pinot for well over fifty years, so the vines are at full maturity.

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.

This is the grandest bottling of Cabernet Franc from one of Chinon’s most outstanding producers.

This lithe and expressive “orange” wine is an ideal palate-opener with a dry, cleansing finish and a fresh, cooling effect like coastal sage and seaspray.

The singularity and beauty of Chenin Blanc really shines with a bit of age, which is what makes this wine so special to enjoy now.