A brilliant, stunning chenin blanc from Béatrice & Pascal Lambert’s clay and limestone soils. This fleshy but sparky wine goes through malolactic fermentation, unusual in that terroir. As a result,... read more →
Marie Rocher and I met in 2009 when she told her father, the late Jean Paul Rocher, that he needed to publish The Battle for Wine and Love in French.... read more →
Julien Rousselot works on nearly 3 hectares in the winemaking enclave of Rablay-sur-Layon. There he grows chenin, grolleau, grolleau gris, gamay, and the two cabernets. Part of the “En Joue... read more →
Found this fresh beaut of old vine, low yield (25hl per hectare) grolleau from schistic soils during the Renaissance. It’s made in Anjou using whole cluster fermentation, with three weeks... read more →
Robert Parker Jr. once wrote that grolleau should be yanked out of the Loire, which should make him eligible for high treason. Thank goodness he was ignored. Here’s a stinky... read more →
I had this newcomer at the Renaissance in Angers and I thought, “Not bad!” This, their first vintage, comes from the schist soils of Anjou Noir (tune in next month... read more →
2013 was a hard year in the Anjou, but it was kind to Christine and Joël Ménard, two of the nicest vignerons in all of the Anjou Noir. All of... read more →
What case of wine is complete without the Pur Breton? I couldn’t resist including the new vintage, which is brilliant. No trace of sheepy brett (or at least, not much).... read more →
Everyone loves Vince, as I will—once I meet him. He learned the soil from Alsace’s Patrick Meyer. Once the grapes from his volcanic soil arrive into his winery, he gives... 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 →