Eric Nicolas, the pioneering vigneron in Coteaux du Loire and Jasnières is celebrated for his pineau d’aunis but his chenins are also spectacular. The vines for this are up to... read more →
According to Eric and Christine Nicolas, this is an attempt to make an affordable wine from their terroir. Okay, this is not inexpensive but it is damned classy and totally... read more →
From three parcels of schist and vines between 16–90 years old comes a broad, horizontal, delicious wine. After a touch of pot on the nose comes the orange and tangerine... read more →
If only it were kosher, my kosher wine readers would rejoice. But alas, the winemaker is not a religious Jew, so this is merely a good Israeli wine. The viticulture... read more →
There’s such good stuff going on those schist-based soils of Rablay/Layon, and this entry from Bruno Richard was stunning. There was plenty flesh and pithy skin firmness and tension. A... read more →
Stéphane Erissé makes subtle wines of elegance from 3 hectares of vines with an average age of 90 in Saint Georges-Sur-Layon. This chenin is subdued and extremely classy. You might... read more →
Like the man, Mark Angéli’s wines are a peaceful journey into sensibility. The La Lune, both the regular and the one raised in amphore is a blend from three vineyards... read more →
Mark Angéli treats his special single-vineyard wine to a two-year élevage, and it always seems rounder, fuller, a bit more classic with a bitter edge and bracing rhubarb. Don’t leave... read more →
Like Manuel Moraga (in the Chilean story), Frantz used to be in forestry. He worked in Québec before moving back to France. He makes this marvelous wine from a blend... read more →
Sébastien Dervieux, lovingly known as Babass, can at times strike a very beautiful wine and in the shitty year of 2014, this pet’nat is one of them. The name suggests... read more →