Into the Loire Valley We Forage! (the Loire Project 2025)

 Greetings fellow Bottle Foragers!

As part of relaunching this blog in 2025 and dedicating the year to what I like to proclaim "Drinking with a purpose!"  I present my first bottomless rabbit hole...

the Loire Valley, France.

The land of castles sometimes referred to as "the Valley of Kings" was formed shortly after its conquest by Julius Caesar in 52BC. Its opulence was in full swing and a hot bed of trade and luxury that peaked during the French Renaissance. It has a rich history of being the land of kings but also the "Garden of France" which makes sense because where kings reside, so does fine wine gleamed from the ripe fruits on the vine.

It is these ripe fruits on the vine that will dictate the focus of this deep dive which I am aptly calling...

I have always been a fan of Loire wines. From my first sip of a crisp clean Muscadet (Melon de Bourgogne), to the mysterious woodsy herbaceous red fruits of Cabernet Franc, crisp mineral Sauvignon Blancs and the mind bending variation of the glorious Chenin Blanc! Time after time, I would arrive at wine shows tasting through the vast seas of esteemed wine regions and high price tag bottles of Burgundy and Chateauneuf du Pape, trying to get a foot hold on the world of French wines and always there stood this little engine that could, the Loire Valley. 

Geographically the Loire is a grand wine growing region that follows the route of the Loire River which begins at the foot of Mont Gerbier de Jonc in the Massif region to the southwest of Burgundy, where it flows north through the town of Nevers & Orleans then turns west through Tours, Angers & Nantes where it opens into the Atlantic Ocean. Along this river lies some of my favorite wine appellations. From Sancerre to Chinon, Muscadet to Vouvray, Montlouis to Bourgueil... the breadth of the Loire has a complex and diverse influence on the world of wine and my appreciation for it only deepens the further I forage and learn.

The projects idea came to me while sipping through a bottle of Chenin Blanc that I snagged off a closeout list from a local Maine distributor just after the new year. What is a closeout? Well, this bottle I was sipping on typically cost $15-20, but due to circumstances that I can only speculate on, they wanted to move it along and offered it at a deep discount. I am always on the lookout for these opportunities. One reason is, well honestly, who doesn't love a good sale? Second is sometimes its takes a "great value" to get a wine customer to go out of their comfort zone. Finding great wines that typically sell for $25 and being able to offer it for $12-15 will always get people to try something new. Now occasionally these "closeouts" aren't all they are cracked up to be and simply are just old wines past their prime, but occasionally and more often then not, wines from lesser know regions or less mainstream grape varietals are the gems to watch for! Chenin Blanc being an age worthy white, is a prime example of what I like to watch for and because of these finds, I have turned a few less adventurous wine drinkers into Chenin Blanc fans! Anyway, here I am sipping on a glass of Chenin Blanc from the producer Fabien Deveau and just being blown away by its complexity all the while I am flipping through a wine book called "the Sommelier's Atlas of Taste" that I got as gift this past holiday season. As I flipped through the pictures I came across a picture of Chenin Blanc hanging on the vine and started to sift through the words on the page and the moment struck me. I needed to understand more about these wines and the places they are from. I have the basic understandings but my understanding is more in  tasting a lot of wines from the area and vague public school geographic ideas of France and its place on earth. Obviously, I have more knowledge than that, as through the years of wine seminars and producers and importers pulling up maps on their tablets and explaining why this wine has more of this based on the way the winds prevail from this body of water or how the mountains to the west trap the warm air over here to lengthen the growing season yadda, yadda, all good info but many times its in one ear and out the other unless the wine is a show stopper and maybe I gaze back at the map and absorb a little more knowledge and understanding to try to catalog this wines place in my tasting journey and ask some questions as I try to gain more insight into why the current wine in my glass is so tasty! Back to my chair and this Fabien Deveau, as I sat there and gazed at the words of a Master Sommelier describe the different soils of Vouvray and how those compared to Savienniers, both world class appellations of Chenin Blanc producers, my decision was made. I need to learn more about the Loire and gain a better understanding of why and who produces these delicious beverages that have demanded my attention over the past 20yrs of drinking them. And anyone that knows me, knows when I get something in my head, I am all in! Have I told you about how my wife (then girlfriend) and I ate a 100% Maine Grown diet for a full year and blogged about it everyday, or how I recognized the nuances of a Japanese bass player on a jazz album I was listening too and three years later I was trying to decode jazz books written in kanji as my vinyl collection turned its focus into a now epic catalog of Japanese jazz that now resides in my studio. I could go on in on on my deep dives... but lets keep our focus on Loire!

I quickly proceeded to do what I do best. Dive in head first and now currently typing this I have spent the last month or so of diving deep into all things Loire! My first step was to break down the Loire into parts and then decided to just focus on two main grape varieties and the different regions they are produced in the Loire.

Cabernet Franc (Chinon/Anjou/ Saumur Champigny/ Bourgeuil)

Chenin Blanc (Saumur/Vouvray/Moutlouis/Savienniers)

From there I scoured through my wine books and bookmarked all related chapters, ordered the best  book I could find, simply called "Wines of the Loire Valley" by Beverley Blanning and supplemented those avenues by plugging into any Loire related podcast during my workday and unwinding after the kiddo goes to bed by clicking through YouTube videos as I absorbed and contrasted information and compared notes and just geek out like I tend to do. Along with the information superhighway, I also reached out to my favorite wine educator who probably has shared some of my most memorable Loire Valley wines with me and got his advice on approach and producers to compare and contrast.  

Gathering, absorbing and contrasting all this information, I was now ready to forage. The easiest first stop and most cost effective was our own personal cellar. I pulled all the Loire Valley wines we had squirrelled away over the last couple years sorted through chenins and cab franc and then spent the last few weeks scouring our local wine distributors books for the right balance of wine that fit my budget and would allow me to get a broad view of these two grapes and the places that produce them! Along with special ordering a few, I also branched out to a few select shops in town to see what kind of gems they may be hiding. All that said and done and we have quite the line up of wines to explore on this journey and the time has come to not only tell you, my cherished readers, but also to start opening some of these and experiencing the precious gift that is Loire Valley wine!

The Wines...

***CABERNET FRANC***

CHINON

Olga Raffault Les Picasses 2017

Dom Pallus Les Pensees Pallus 2018

Chat Petit Thouars L’Amiral 2018

Dom Pallus Messanger Rouge 2020

Couly-Dutheil  La Coulee Automnale 2020

Bernard Baudry Les Grezeaux Chinon 2021

Charles Joguet Les Varennes du Grand Clos 2020

Charles Joguet Clos du Chene Vert 2020

Charles Joguet Clos de la Dioterie 2020

Charles Joguet La Cure 2021

ANJOU

Chat Bois-Brincon BB Anjou Rouge 2021

Nicolas Reau Ange Rouge 2022

 

SAUMUR CHAMPIGNY

Clotilde Legrand Les Terrager 2019

Chateau du Hureau Lisagathe 2014

Chateau du Hureau Tuffe 2021

Fabien Duveau Les Menais 2021

Dom des Roches Nueves Terres Chaudes 2022

Dom des Roches 'Domaine' 2023

Chateau Yvonne Le Beaumeray 2019

Chateau Yvonne La Folie 2022

Chateau Yvonne L’Ile Quatre Sour 2022

BOURGUEIL

Amirault Le Clos des Quaterons 2019

Chevalerie Bourgueil 2019

Dom de la Cotelleraie Les Perruches 2019

Dom de la Cotelleraie Les Mauguerets  2020

Dom de la Cotelleraie Pigeur Fou 2020

Domaine du Bel Air Les Vingt Lieux Dits 2020

Dom de la Chanteleuserie  Beauvais 2023

Dom de la Chanteleuserie Alouettes 2023

C & P Breton Trinch 2023

 

OTHER

Patrick Corbineau Le Clos 2021

***CHENIN BLANC***

SPARKLING

Champalou Brut NV

Guadrelle L’Extra Brut 2016

Dom Huet Petillant Brut 2019

Chidaine Montlouis Reserve 2022

 

VOUVRAY

Dom Nicolas Brunet Vouvray Sec 2014

Clos Naudin Foreau Vouvray Sec 2017

Florent Cosme Grosse Pierre Sec 2022

Guadrelle Ammonite Vouvray Sec 2022

Francis Pinon Vouvray Sec 2022

Francis Pinon Vouvray Les Deronnieres Sec 2022

Francis Pinon Buvez du Bon Pinon 2022

Francis Pinon Vouvray Solera NV

Champalou Vouvray Sec 2023

Champlaou Vouvray Les Fondraux 2023

Dom Huet Clos du Bourg Sec 2023

Dom Huet Le Haut-Lieu Sec 2023

Dom Huet Le Mont Sec 2023

Dom Huet Le Mont Moelleux 2023

Dom du Clos de L’Epinay Chaflorie 2023

 

MONTLOUIS

Chidaine Clos Habert 2019

Chidaine Clos Breuil 2022

Chidaine Les Boumais 2020

 

SAVIENNIERES

Domaine du Closel La Jalousie 2021

Domaine Laureau L’Alliance 2019

Chateau de Varennes Savennieres 2019

Domaine de Baumard Clos du Papillon 2019

 

SAUMUR BLANC

Domaine Belgarus Ronceray 2019

Emmanuel Haget Anitya 2019

Bruno Dubois Les Peruches 2020

Chat Bois-Brincon Anjou Blanc Terre de Gres 2020

Domaine Guiberteau Breze 2021

Clotilde Legrand A L’Ecart 2021

Chateau Yvonne Saumur Blanc 2022

Nicolas Reau Attention Chenin Merchant 2023

Thierry Germain L’Insolite 2023

Chateau Soucherie Anjou Blanc Les Rangs De Long 2023

 

OTHER

Couly-Dutheil Chinon Les Chanteaux 2021

Janvier Coteaux du Loire 2022

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Stay tuned... Cabernet Franc from Chinon post is coming soon!

the Brighter Side of Japanese Whisky Blind Tasting.

Another weekend and another blind whiskey tasting. 

I have always had a soft place in my heart for japanese whiskey. 

To be honest its not just whiskey that inspires me from Japan, I also have a deep infinity for the culture as a whole. From music, to food, art and philosophy. I find the older I get the more influence and inspiration pulls me to the depth of japans rich culture and values. As far as whiskey goes I found Japans offerings to be a little more elegant and soft handed than its scotch counterparts. They came across softer and more nuanced than the few scotches I had tried and honestly to this day I still feel like that statement rings true, though I have started to grow a softer spot for some choice scotch producers as well, and the value that was once found in the Japanese sector of whiskey is long gone!

After spending a couple recent evenings diving into a few pours accompanied by a book "Whisky Rising" by Stefan Van Eycken, lovingly gifted to me by my wonderful and supportive wife! I was inspired to taste a few blindly and kind of picked a few from my Japan shelf that I thought were on the lighter side of offerings for a fair comparison. 

the LINEUP

Hatozaki Small Batch 12yr Umeshu Cask

Hibiki Japanese Harmony

Kaiyo Whisky

As you can see in the glass they all have a similar color and are on the lighter side of the spectrum. Stay tuned for a part two where I will include those on the darker side.

 Back to the task at hand...

It was really interesting going back and forth with these selections. One glass evoked a scotch personality, while the other two leaned more on the sweeter toastier side of the spectrum. Honestly, even knowing I have sipped all these on their own and thoroughly enjoyed them. Tasting them void of my preconceived notions based on price and packaging and just analyzing and enjoying them side by side really opened up my senses to understand their complexity! Hence the reason I enjoy tasting things "blind"!

FINAL RESULTS

WINNER ** KAIYO WHISKY ** WINNER (90pts)

(Light Straw, Earthy Truffle, Sawdust, Pecan, Unified Fruit & Burnt Sugar Harmony, Vanilla Custard, Pralines, Baked Apple, Sage Brush, Smoked Maple, Focused Rich Barrel Notes with a Long Herbaceous Forest note that lingers)

HATOZAKI 12yr SMALL BATCH UMESHU CASK (88pts)

(Toasted Barley, Grilled Pear, Phenolic Citrus Oils, Plumy, Old Wood, Warm Spice, Soft Grain Backdrop, Buckwheat Honey, Jasmine Tea, Scotchesque, Great Movement on the Palate, Touch of Heat, Tannic Fruit Skin Finish, Floral Balance)

HIBIKI JAPANESE HARMONY (87pts)

(Burnt Sugar, Toasted Coconut, Pear, Hay, Bread Pudding, Buttery Shortbread, Vanilla, Almond Blossoms, Light Stonefruit, Touch Thin but Delicious)

A Tale of Two Rieslings. 003 (GG Edition)

When it feels right, the time is right. While soaking in some afternoon sun and shoveling the paths at the homestead, I stopped for a moment to listen to the wind drifting through the snow covered forest that we inhabit as the flock of bluejays cackle about the beeches and oaks, sifting around for their forgotten acorns of autumn.

This is the mindset I was in as I hung up the shovel and slowly made my way into the cellar to shed my boots and gloves and find a sip of something to match my mood. As the bottle tops of laid down selections hinted at my possibilities, I spied the recently acquired bottle of Clemens Busch Marienburg Fahrlay 2022 GG and I said... should I, hmmm. Just then my other hand grasped the Kruger Rumpf Im Pitterberg GG 2022 I have been patiently giving a little time too settle and seeing them side by side from the same vintage, the decision was made to treat myself to a Tale of Two Rieslings edition. 

In the last installment of  Tale of Two Rieslings, I briefly spoke of  how to decipher a Riesling label regarding the sweetness levels and the easy cheat of gauging the abv as a typical indicator. 

This installment I will touch on indicators of high quality dry Rieslings. The term GG an abbreviation of grosse gewachs is a designation put together by the 200 member organization called the VDP. What's the VDP, don't they designate Erste Lage? Confused yet... yes Germans are passionate about wine and because of that passion they have struggled to all agree on the best way to designate things in a universal way. QbA, QmP, GG, Erste Lage, Erste Grewachs, Gross Lage... yes it's a bit confusing even for myself who has had it explained by many german importers and even some winemakers themselves. 

But today lets just concentrate on GG or Grosse Gewachs, which is an esteemed designation that characterizes the wine in your hand as always of high quality, dry wine from a single vineyard of a Gross Lage. Well now you are probably asking what a Gross Lage is.. and that is a small demarcated area with clear site specific character or "terroir" as their French neighbors would say, or quite simply, Germanys best vineyard sites!  

Ok, I'm learning too, but again theory and knowledge is great but the best way to learn is always to taste!

THE WINE: CLEMENS BUSCH MARIENBURG GG FAHRLAY 2022

MY THOUGHTS:

Pours a light golden color with a glimmering shine of clarity and sparkle.

Aromas whisper gentle nuances of apricot flesh, rainier cherries, lemon zest, dandelion, wet river rock nuances linger with hints of gently placed diesel fumes, juicy fruit gum and spring fog.

Palate follows with some suppleness on the front of the tongue that evolves on the palate as the hyper focused mineral tang seeps into the cheeks and gives the rest of the mouth a secret handshake that opens up the same symphony of layered fruit that the nose lured me in with. Orange blossoms, lemon zest, golden russet apples, mountain spring water and a ever so slight hint of botrytis riding through the tropical veil in a very pleasant way. This wine is pretty electric but also thoughtful. The kind of wine that lights up the room with intention not flamboyance.

Definitely putting a few of these down in the cellar to see how this ages.

(FINAL SCORE: 92pts)

THE WINE: KRUGER RUMPF IM PITTERBERG GG 2022

Pours a pale golden straw color with glasslike clarity and a few tiny gaseous bubbles sparsely settling out on the pour and as the glass sits.

Aromas are punchy with bruised stone fruits mingling with sharp citrus, unripe pineapple spears and ample amounts of bright acid contrasted by green orchid, limestone and diesel whiffs.

Palate is more supple than the nose led on and has a harmonious interplay of fruit and acid. Tangelos, blood orange, sweet luxardo cherry, lemon, spearmint and flint.  Together spinning through the glass like lifelong dance partners as everyone circles around to appreciate the grace as they dip and twirl in harmony with moments of flair but always holding each other firmly in check. The length of the finish rolls with complexity as the fruit evolves further on the tongue and the acidity begs the glass to touch the lips again and again.  

(FINAL SCORE: 92pts)

As I sipped these bottles out, leaving a little for a revisit on day two and even a touch to share on morning three, side by side with a JJ Prum GG, its quite obvious that Riesling matters!

Paired with a snowy afternoon and a good book, maybe a couple slices of charcuterie and a mellow cheese or just perhaps a crunchy pretzel. 

Till next post, cheers!