Jen returns from France’s Central Loire Valley and she has some great wines to share!
Above: Jen with winemaker Lucia Mineur-Billet.
Jen recently returned from visiting producers in France’s Central Loire Valley, where Sauvignon Blanc reaches its most sublime expression. Walking the limestone and flint-studded vineyards of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, tasting with passionate growers, and experiencing the terroir firsthand has only deepened her appreciation for these remarkable wines. Winemakers are currently bottling their 2024 whites and the 2025 vintage is now underway with bud break last week.
This newsletter shares insights from her travels and introduces exceptional bottles now available in our shop. Whether you’re a longtime Loire enthusiast or just beginning your exploration of these magnificent white wines, we hope you’ll find something to delight your palate.
The Appellations
Sancerre
Perched on steep hills overlooking the Loire River, Sancerre produces what many consider the world’s most elegant Sauvignon Blanc. The region’s three distinct soil types—clay limestone terres blanches, stony limestone caillottes, and flinty silex—each impart unique characteristics to the wines. Wineries traditionally blend from a variety of sites, but some choose to let one specific soil type shine. Along with its native Sauvignon blanc, Sancerre also grows Pinot Noir, allowing for some lovely rosé and red wines.
Pouilly-Fumé
Just west across the Loire River from Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé crafts Sauvignon Blanc with its own distinctive personality. The gently rolling hills here mix Sauvignon blanc with other crops. The region’s limestone and silex soils, combined with slightly warmer temperatures, produce wines with richer fruit and refined structure. The best examples balance generous texture with precise minerality.
Menetou-Salon
This less-heralded neighbor to the west Sancerre offers remarkable value. With similar Kimmeridgian limestone and clay soils as its famous neighbor, Menetou-Salon produces Sauvignon Blanc with all the aromatic complexity and mineral backbone of Sancerre, often at more accessible prices. The reds and rosés from Pinot Noir are also worthy of attention.
Coteaux du Giennois
This emerging appellation north of Sancerre produces crisp whites on clay-limestone soils. These wines typically show bright fruit with gentle mineral notes. Since vineyard land in Sancerre cannot be expanded, many vignerons are acquiring sites in Coteaux de Giennois, where they can offer exceptional value Sauvignon blanc with genuine Loire character.
Recent vintages
2024
Jen tasted many 2024s from tank that were ready to be bottled. She found the wines to be light-bodied, crisp, and focused, similar to the 2021s. They embody a classic fresh Sancerre flavor profile, but are a noticebly different style immediately on the heels of the 2023s. 2024 was a cool and rainy vintage with very low yields. Bottlings will likely sell out between vintages. Growing conditions were more favorable in Pouilly-Fumé than in Sancerre.
2023
This warm and sunny growing season resulted in both quality and quantity. These more extroverted wines balance rich fruit with surprising freshness.
2022
A warm, sunny vintage that produced ripe, generous wines with excellent concentration. The best examples offer exotic fruit with underlying mineral structure. Generous yields made for plenty of wine to go around.
The Producers
Hippolyte Reverdy (Sancerre)
The Reverdy family has been cultivating vines in Sancerre since the 17th century, with Hippolyte establishing the modern estate in the early 1900s. Today, Julie Guiard, Hippolyte’s granddaughter, tends 14 hectares of pristine vineyards scattered across the appellation. Their sites are all calcaire and marl, with no silex sites in their blend. Her wines are paragons of purity—crystalline, profound, and a benchmark for the region.
Pascal Jolivet (Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé, and Coteaux de Giennois)
While relatively new by Loire standards (established 1987), Pascal Jolivet has quickly become one of the region’s most innovative and respected producers. Pascal pioneered a minimalist winemaking approach, using wild yeasts and extremely cold fermentations to preserve varietal purity. Their substantial holdings across both Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé allow him to craft distinctive terroir-specific cuvées. Valentina Buoso has been making the wines for the past 12 years and describes herself as is “Pascal’s right hand.” The domaine is currently converting to biodynamic viticulture.
Alphonse Mellot (Sancerre)
A historic estate, the Mellot family has been producing wine since 1513—with the current Alphonse representing the 19th generation! This biodynamic pioneer (certified since 1997) creates some of the appellation’s most distinctive wines. Their 47 hectares of vineyards include substantial holdings in the legendary Monts Damnés slope. Mellot’s winemaking blends tradition and innovation, employing more barrel-fermention than most wineries for a richer style. Everything Alphonse Mellot crafts at Domaine de la Moussière is top-notch.
Pascal Gitton (Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé, and Coteaux de Giennois)
The Gitton family has deep roots in Pouilly-Fumé, with Pascal representing the third generation leading Domaine Gitton Père et Fils. His daughter Chanel is currently taking over the winemaking reins under his guidance. She is shifting the style to use less oak. Their exceptional vineyard holdings include parcels on all three major soil types, with their oldest vines dating to 1945. Pascal’s father pioneered the philosophy of vinifying different soil types seprately rather than blending them all together.
Régis Minet (Pouilly-Fumé)
Lucia Mineur-Billet took over this estate from her father Régis 7 years ago upon his retiremant. Régis Minet quietly established it as a source of outstanding traditional Pouilly-Fumé. Working without pretension or fanfare, Minet tends his old vines (many planted by his grandfather in the 1940s and 50s) by hand and crafts wines of remarkable purity and authentic expression. Her wines express terroir with fabulous clarity and precision.
Henri Pellé (Menetou-Salon)
The Pellé family has been the standard-bearer for Menetou-Salon since Henri established the domaine in 1959. Today, the estate is directed by Henri’s grandson Paul-Henry, who has expanded their holdings to 40 hectares across the appellation’s finest terroirs. Their viticulture combines organic practices with horse-plowing in select parcels, focusing on low yields and perfect ripeness. The winery crafts several distinctive cuvées, including the remarkable single-vineyard “Morogues,” which showcases the appellation’s capacity for wines of depth and longevity.
Tasting Opportunity
Join us Wednesday from 5-7pm as we pour a selection of these magnificent Loire Valley wines. This complimentary tasting will be the perfect opportunity to experience these expressions of terroir firsthand.
1. Mary Taylor (Alice Berthier) Coteaux de Giennois Blanc 2023 $23.98
2. Gitton Sancerre Blanc “En Creux” 2022 $43.98
3. Domaine Régis Minet Pouilly-Fumé “Vielles Vignes” 2022 $37.98
4. Alphonse Mellot (Domaine de la Moussière) Sancerre Rosé 2022 $33.98