Loire Valley Wine Guide: Grapes, Appellations & Producers

Muscadet country

Soil: Gneiss, granite and schist near the Atlantic.
Style: Bone-dry, saline, light whites — the classic oyster wine.
Top sites: Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine; cru communes Clisson, Gorges, Le Pallet.
Vintages: 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022
Producers: André-Michel Brégeon

Tip · 'Sur lie' = aged on dead yeast over winter, adding a faint spritz and creamy depth.

Value pick

Domaine de la Pépière 'Clisson' Muscadet · ~$28

A cru Muscadet aged on lees — mineral, age-worthy and absurdly underpriced for the quality.

Collector pick

Domaine de la Pépière 'Clos des Briords' Muscadet · ~$30 · 2018

A cru Muscadet from old vines that ages astonishingly — a connoisseur's cellar secret.

Chenin & Cab Franc

Soil: Dark schist ('Anjou noir') west; tuffeau limestone east.
Style: Bone-dry to nobly sweet Chenin; fresh Cabernet Franc reds.
Top sites: Savennières (dry); Quarts de Chaume (sweet); Saumur-Champigny (red).
Vintages: 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2022
Producers

Tip · Chenin's superpower is range: searing-dry Savennières to unctuous Quarts de Chaume.

Value pick

Thibaud Boudignon Anjou Blanc · ~$45

Dry Chenin of Savennières-level intensity from a rising star, at a relative bargain.

Collector pick

Nicolas Joly 'Coulée de Serrant' · ~$120 · 2018

A biodynamic, monopole Savennières — one of France's most singular age-worthy whites.

Vouvray & Chinon

Soil: Tuffeau (soft limestone) — the stone of the Loire châteaux and cellars.
Style: Vouvray Chenin at every sweetness; perfumed Cabernet Franc.
Top sites: Vouvray, Montlouis (white); Chinon, Bourgueil (red).
Vintages: 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2022
Producers

Tip · Vouvray can be sec, demi-sec, moelleux or sparkling — always check the label.

Value pick

Bernard Baudry 'Les Granges' Chinon · ~$25

Juicy, pure Cabernet Franc from a benchmark Chinon family — everyday price, serious pedigree.

Collector pick

Clos Rougeard 'Le Bourg' Saumur-Champigny · ~$300 · 2016

The cult Cabernet Franc of the Loire — profound, rare and fiercely collected.

Sauvignon's home

Tip · Pouilly-Fumé (Loire, Sauvignon) ≠ Pouilly-Fuissé (Mâcon, Chardonnay).

Value pick

Gérard Boulay Sancerre 'Chavignol' · ~$35

Chalky, intense Sancerre from a top Chavignol grower — far more than a generic Sauvignon.

Collector pick

Didier Dagueneau 'Silex' Pouilly-Fumé · ~$150 · 2019

The benchmark age-worthy Sauvignon Blanc — flinty, profound and collectible.