Dry White Wines

This is a warmer, south-facing site than Fumet. In 2019 there is wonderful weight from the peachy nectarine fruit and a floral lift. Just gorgeous right now, and the weight will carry it so well through a few years in the cellar.

Bertrand Minchin’s wines just keep getting better. This north-facing limestone site is cool and late ripening. In a warm year like 2020 it soars. There is such a fine acidity and outstanding length, with so much persistence on the palate. We can’t wait to see how the fruit and acidity entwine further with some bottle age.

This north-facing limestone site is cool and late ripening. In a warm year like 2019 its quality soars. There is such a fine acidity and outstanding length. I was really blown away by this, and can’t wait to see how the fruit and acidity entwine further with some bottle age. Nervous and tense, this warrants attention.

Complex, smoky and floral on the nose. This is terroir-driven Sauvignon Blanc, with superb texture and balance. It is precise and layered, full of savoury, dried herb and grassy notes on the palate. Impressive length. A perfect accompaniment to fish dishes or with goats cheese.

This is packed with juicy concentration, with an impressive tension. This is terroir-driven Sauvignon Blanc, with the texture and balance to age well, though it’s probably too enticing to ignore right now. Impressive length.

This new cuvée was introduced in 2019. It is made from young vines across three parcels, all of which Damien has planted himself. They have all been pruned in the goblet fashion, which encourages small bunches to ripen: Damien is seeking an intensity of flavour. This wine has a lovely white fruit and floral character. Easy and appealing.

This Savennières has a brilliant attack. It is pithy and weighty, with plenty of energy. It grown on sandy soils over schist bedrock and the resulting wine is vinous and saline. A little oak gives structure to the palate and the finish shows ripe, concentrated fruit.

Staggering attention to detail is paid by Stéphane Riffault in both the vineyard and cellar. He is unquestionably making some of the most exciting wines in the appellation. They stand out for their tightly coiled, supercharged concentration. This is Sauvignon Blanc as you've never known it before: powerful, with a filigree, piercing, precise freshness. It reminds me of the best 2014s, Chablis-eqsue in stature. It comes from a parcel grown on Kimmeridgian marl, known locally as terres blanches, which produces wines full of flavour and texture. The 2021 is a tour de force, and appropriately marks the domaine's first year with full biodynamic certification.

Huet is regarded as the greatest of the Vouvray estates and produces wines that are virtually indestructible. In great vintages, a life expectancy of 30, 40 years or more is spoken of with confidence, and there is no disputing that 2005 was a fabulous year for Vouvray! As yet the bouquet and palate of this sweet cuvée from the Le Mont vineyard is quite closed, one has to delve deep into the glass for perfumes and flavours. Two days after we first opened the wine, the class and potential was clear to see, a sure indication of quality and staying power. Subtle sweetness is freshened by ripe acidity and the flavours display a wealth of glorious, ripe, pure tropical fruits which build to a fabulous crescendo. The beauty of a wine such as this is that it will be exquisite throughout its long life and develop added nuances as the ageing process takes its course.

This parcel is just behind Denis Jamain’s house, and is full of Kimmeridgian limestone soil. It makes a wine with such fresh, fragrant aromas of citrus fruits and oyster brine, with a lightly fruity palate. This is the best example we know from the appellation, and delivers a lovely silky length.

This is bursting with bergamot freshness. As always, Luc says it showed the best balance between acidity and pH in the cellar, meaning the wine tastes vibrant and fresh without being overly bracing and acidic. Pieuchaud is a flinty-soiled lieu-dit in the commune of Thauvenay in the south-east of the Sancerre appellation. Luc decided to isolate this vineyard after noting it always produced fruit with great maturity whilst maintaining that high acidity - the secret to single vineyard wines in his opinion. It is saline and savoury, making it an excellent food wine with plenty of ageing potential.

La Pitaude lies on Kimmeridgian terres blanches soils in the commune of Verdigny (very similar to that of the Monts Damnés vineyard). The site produces bunches with such small berries that the concentration of acidity and flavour in this wine absolutely soars. Yields are so low that Luc has considered pulling the vines out many times, but each year it makes such a spellbinding wine, he decides to keep them. And since this wine in such miniscule volumes, he hand writes with a gold pen on the bottle. It would do well for a few years in the cellar, and its saline, savoury structure will make it an excellent food wine in the years to come.

Every so often a vintage comes along that hits the sweetest pitch; it doesn't matter what level you're buying at - every wine hits the most harmonious note. 2014 was like that in Sancerre, and 2021 is too. From Luc Prieur’s Sancerre Blanc up to his Monts Damnés, this is an electric set of wines. We've loved his Sancerre Blanc for years, and where it has always offered balance, purity and complexity, the 2021 goes one step further. It comes from parcels dotted around the village of Verdigny and is a blend of the three major soil types found in the region: caillottes, silex and terres blanches. The 2021 is tiny in volume (the frost bit hard here) but has the sophistication and vibrant energy of the wonderful 2014 vintage, with prickly notes of freshly strimmed nettles and jasmine spice. It's a wine to tuck away if you can resist. This is an exceptionally terroir-driven Sancerre from one of the finest young talents in the region.

This is a rare opportunity to own some ex-domaine late release Sancerre blanc from a rising star producer. Luc Prieur's Sancerre blanc is hands down our buyer Catherine's favourite wine. For price and quality, it's unbeatable. Twin that with some bottle age - the way Sancerre should be drunk - and you have an unmissable opportunity. 2012s are compact and complex.

One of the up-and-coming stars of Vouvray has crafted another winner in 2016. Made from five separate parcels of the same terroir, called La Folie (or “madness”) this is concentrated, ripe and very pure. With clean fruit and just the right balance of sweetness and bitterness, it's a wonderful expression of dry Vouvray, and a wine with great potential.

This is the jewel in the crown of this domaine. It comes from a limestone (tuffeau) site overlooking the Loire which is so steep it has to be worked by horse instead of tractor. It has such a chalky note on the nose, it almost reminds me of Sancerre grown on terres blanches soils. With greengage and lime singing out, and mineral energy and tension driving it forward, this is a brilliant wine you’ll wish you bought more of.

This is everything we’ve been looking for in a dry Vouvray: precise, chiselled Chenin fruit, balanced weight, sappy freshness, and flinty finish. It comes from clay and flint soils around the domaine, and is a great showcase for the 2019 vintage. So refreshing and well-made.

This is everything we’ve been looking for in a dry Vouvray: precise, chiselled Chenin fruit, balanced weight, sappy freshness, and flinty finish. It comes from clay and flint soils around the domaine, andin 2020 has an electric energy. It’s so bright, and with a clean, precise weight and length, it’s hard to imagine a better example of the appellation for the price.

This beautiful property was bought by Jérôme in 2007. He says that, as well as a perfect place to grow vines, it’s also the ultimate picnic spot, where the family like to shuck oysters with a bottle of the château’s delicious wine. Precise and refreshing, with a citrus, floral nose. The sur lie ageing gives it a fine texture and a lively freshness which are so well expressed in this light-bodied, paradigm Muscadet.

Grown on schist and galet roulé soils between the Lac de Grandlieu and the Atlantic Ocean, where the thin topsoil produces a very fine example. It has a touch of tropical fruit along with the salty, leesy freshness, and a creamy texture on the palate. Excellent value.

This wine is made from the rare and exciting Romorantin grape. It has a fragrant nose of lilies, toffee apple, blossom, and notes of iodine. This has the variety’s typically racy acidity, razor-sharp and refreshing, with a sour-lemon tang. Piquant, lightly floral, with the drive of green Granny Smith apple on the palate.

This comes from various parcels of younger vines, aged around 20 years old. The name is a tongue-in-cheek nod to a dispute many years back with a neighbouring vigneron. In Savennières, the vignerons have a wicked sense of humour as well as great pride in their appellation. The grapes are picked at the beginning of harvest, and there is a pithy, salty tang to the dry, textural palate. It's the lightest weight of the Closel wines, but now with a few years of bottle age displays delicious honey and beeswax notes.

This comes from various parcels of younger vines, aged around 20 years old. The name is a tongue-in-cheek nod to a dispute many years back with a neighbouring vigneron. In Savennières, the vignerons have a wicked sense of humour as well as great pride in their appellation. The grapes are picked at the beginning of harvest, and there is a pithy, almost spicy, salty tang to the dry but juicy palate. The 2019 has a delicately floral lift, and zingy freshness. It's the lightest weight of the Closel wines, and will drink brilliantly from early on.

This is the flagship wine of the estate, offering up power, precision, and remarkable ageing ability. It shows a heady concoction of sweet blossom and candied citrus notes on the nose, with a palate of electrifying power. Vivid freshness and impressive weight culminates on the long finish. Truly outstanding.