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Stéphane Riffault Le Métronome* *”Our 25 Signature Domaines of The Year.” Guides des Vins 2020, Bettane+Desseauve: “When you think of Sancerre, you absolutely have to mention Stéphane Riffault. Measure, attention and reflection forge high-flying and stylish cuvées; each reflecting the…

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Posted on 2024.12.12 in Sancerre, Rosé de Loire, France, Wine-Aid Packages, Loire  |  Read more...

 

Re-imagining Touraine: Young and Talented Duo Jean-Baptiste Bonnigal and Stéphane Bodet Isolate Localities and Varieties to Create Loire Reds and Whites with Expression and Finesse. 6-Bottle (4 White & 2 Red) Sampler Pack $185

This week we feature a pair of remarkable vignerons, Jean-Baptiste Bonnigal and Stéphane Bodet. This talented duo have concentrated their skills on the best plots in Amboise, a six-hundred-acre Touraine appellation where the varietal focus is Côt (Malbec) and Chenin….

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Posted on 2024.10.17 in Touraine, France, Wine-Aid Packages, Loire  |  Read more...

 

Loire Reds Like it Hot: Cabernet-Franc in Touraine Benefits from Climate Change, Producing Lusty, Bold-Flavored Wines. A Baker’s Dozen for $397.

Grape vines are the canary in the coal mine. Particularly sensitive to temperature and rainfall flux—hence the clichéd ‘good vintage’ vs. ‘poor vintage’—vines are among the most effective agricultural tools we have to gauge the effect that climate change is…

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Posted on 2024.08.08 in Bourgueil, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, Chinon, Touraine, France, Wine-Aid Packages  |  Read more...

 

New Energy in the Less Familiar Territory of Touraine in The Heart of The Loire Valley; A Place Where Talented Artisanal Vignerons are Introducing Changes and Reinvention. Two Packs: Red Touraine 11-Bottle Pack ($369) & White Touraine 12-Bottle Pack ($369)

Touraine may not grab the vinous headlines of, say, Sancerre or Vouvray, but in ways it is the aesthetic paradigm for the region: Made of castles and gardens and vineyards lining the capricious and majestic Loire from Anjou in the…

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Posted on 2024.07.25 in Coteaux-du-Loir, Cheverny, Coteaux-du-Loir, Cour-Cheverny, Touraine Azay-le-Rideau, Touraine, France, Wine-Aid Packages, Loire  |  Read more...

 

A Veritable Revolution in Sancerre: Stéphane Riffault is Creating Wines of Texture, That are Singular, and True to Themselves. (Seven-Bottle Pack $299: Two Red and Five White)

A communion with the soil is the most important relationship a winemaker will ever forge, and nowhere is this demonstrated more reliably than in Sancerre, where three distinct soil types produce a split-personality of wine characteristics. This may be something…

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Posted on 2024.07.20 in Sancerre, Rosé de Loire, France, Wine-Aid Packages, Loire  |  Read more...

 

The French Climate Divide: 2023 Rosés Show The Difference Between Warm-Climate (Mediterranean) and Cool-Climate (Oceanic) Fruit. Ten Types, Spanning the Two, by Seventeen Producers. A Dozen Rosés $349 – A Holiday Sampler.

Two things that France and the United States share: A red, white and blue flag and a passion for rosé. So, while we’re celebrating both on the Fourth of July, we’ll take the opportunity to offer a springboard to this…

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Posted on 2024.07.05 in Santenay, Chinon, Sancerre, Côte-de-Provence, Côtes-du-Rhône, Rosé de Loire, Anjou, cassis, Bandol, Menetou-Salon, France, Beaujolais, Wine-Aid Packages, Loire, Southern Rhone  |  Read more...

 

Rosés Deserve To Live A Little: 2021 Rosés in Full Bloom, Show Character And Dimensions With Two Years of Maturity … 13-Bottle Pack $299 (Limited)

Any remaining stigma attached to rosé remains within the dark soul of the stigmatized; those of us on the right side of wine appreciation understand that rosé is enjoying the fruits—quite literally—of its historical labor. This is especially true in…

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Posted on 2024.03.22 in Anjou, cassis, Bandol, Luberon, Ventoux, Terrasses du Larzac, Gigondas, Côte-de-Provence, Rosé de Loire, France, Bordeaux, Wine-Aid Packages, Languedoc-Roussillon, Loire, Provence, Southern Rhone  |  Read more...

 

Lure Of The Loire II: A Wide Range Of Red Varieties, Soils And Microclimates Allow For A Diversity Of Wines And Styles By Upstart Generation

The media engine behind French wine seems driven primarily by two wheels—Burgundy and Bordeaux—while the Loire is often relegated to third-wheel status. And it’s not from want of praise: The vivid, crisp, hauntingly aromatic and almost supernaturally focused wines of…

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Posted on 2024.02.02 in Chinon, Saumur-Champigny, Touraine, Anjou, France, Wine-Aid Packages, Loire  |  Read more...

 

The Paradox of Chenin: Three Neo-vignerons Use The Variety To Explore Anjou Noir’s Microclimates And Soil Complexity With Unique Collection Of Grand Crus And Single-plots

Chenin shares some traits with Marilyn Monroe; it’s blonde, beautiful, rather dreamy and frisky… and, of course, it’s easily exploited. Chenin certainly has a tawdry side (the generic jugs—no pun—from Gallo, circa the 1970s), but when allowed to shine—as Monroe…

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Posted on 2024.01.26 in Coteaux-du-Layon, Quarts-de-Chaume, Savennières, France, Wine-Aid Packages, Loire  |  Read more...

 

The Paradox of Chenin: Ten of Lower Loire’s Top Young Producers Showcase The Multifaceted Faces of The Grape in Three Distinct Regions (10-Bottle Sampler $399)

Join Us for Saturday Sips: The Paradox of Chenin Come as you are; come any time that’s convenient for you during our business hours to sample selection from this week’s selections. Our staff will be on hand to discuss nuances of…

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Posted on 2023.07.13 in Touraine, Anjou, Vouvray, Montlouis-sur-Loire, France, Wine-Aid Packages, Loire  |  Read more...

 

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