Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - 125

YEAR'S BEST LOIRE WINES
this is a pithy red to pour with duck rillettes. §
Selection Massale, San Leandro, CA

BOURGUEIL
227626

91 | Catherine & Pierre
Breton

$30

2015 Bourgueil Les Galichets ^ The Bretons earned organic certification for their
domaine in 1991 and began exploring biodynamics three years later. They grow Les Galichets on five acres of gravel, where the vines
are 50 years old, producing a complex and
heady 2015 with crunchy herbal freshness
and an inviting, silky texture. There's space
between the tannins, allowing access to the
dark fruit tones and suggesting the details
that will develop with several years in bottle. §
Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA
227470

86 | Complices de Loire

$13

2015 Bourgueil Les Castines (Best Buy) ^ A
rustic country wine for bistro meals, this has
the red flavor of beets, with some Brett adding earthiness to the dark fruit. § Craft + Estate/
The Winebow Group, NY

CHINON
227631

94 | Charles Joguet

$37

2014 Chinon Les Varennes du Grand Clos ^
Charles Joguet was a sculptor and painter
when he took over his family's vineyards in
1957. He began to bottle his own wine and
determined to keep the parcels separate,
a practice that paid off, given the family's
prime holdings, like this 11.4-acre parcel
at the base of a gravelly hillside. Today, the
vines at this site date to 1962 and 1976 and
are farmed with organic practices by Kevin
Fontaine. They produce a sophisticated Chinon with red-currant briskness and a floral
buzz. Luscious and giving, it feels electric,
the kind of franc that's hard to resist, and
that works so well with kidneys, liver or other
iron-rich meats. § Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA
227628

92 | Bernard Baudry

$30

2015 Chinon Les Grézeaux ^ Bernard Baudry
and his son, Matthieu, farm a 7.4-acre parcel
of gravelly soil, where the 65-year-old vines
provide the fruit for this wine. They ferment
it in cement tanks and age it in older barrels, allowing the fresh red-currant flavors
and rose scents of the fruit to shine. It's rustic and earthy, with some green-herb scents
and red spice; a wine for organ meats, or a
simple pan-seared steak. § Kermit Lynch Wine
Merchant, Berkeley, CA
227681

92 | Château de Coulaine

$23

2015 Chinon Bonnaventure (Best Buy) ^
Pour this and drink it, and the wine will be
stinky but fresh, with notes of coffee, fresh
meat and elevated acidity. Leave it open in
a decanter and the stink is gone, the meaty
tannins turned toward the richness of filet
mignon, the wine's tense, generous freshness giving it a lusty spark of deliciousness.
This château's vineyards on the plateau in
Chinon have been farmed since the 1300s;
since 1988, they've been under the direction
of Etienne de Bonnaventure, whose team
farms organically and ferments this spontaneously, in 6,000-liter vats, where it rests
until bottling. § Michael Skurnik Wines, NY
227672

91 | Philippe Alliet

$35

90 | Jean-Maurice Raffault

$20

88 | Domaine de la Colline

$15

2014 Chinon L'Huisserie ^ Philippe Alliet
and his son, Pierre, farm these vines on a
south-facing slope of thin clay and flint soils
over limestone. They destem the fruit and
allow it to ferment without adding yeasts in
used 500-liter barrels, bottling a cabernet
franc that is both chocolatey rich and tight.
It's dense, with smoky tobacco notes and
pomegranate flavors, generous and clean. §
Michael Skurnik Wines, NY
228560
2016 Chinon Les Galuches (Best Buy) ^ This
wine's floral cherry flavors are light and airy,
their tart freshness carrying some pretty
funk, along with a chalky edge. Serve this
slightly chilled with charcuterie. § V.O.S. Selections, NY
227603
2015 Chinon (Best Buy) ^ Fresh cranberryred flavors and floral notes of beach roses
give this Chinon a cool, earthy feel. The texture is silky, the tannins fine-grained and
sandy, ready to take on roasted portobellos
stuffed with spinach and Gruyère cheese. §
Monsieur Touton Selection, NY
227691

88 | Château de Coulaine

$18

2016 Chinon (Best Buy) ^ Fresh herbs and
savory scents of tobacco add mellow depths
to this wine's red fruit. It's earthy and mild, a
little soft in the end, suited to burgers off the
grill. § Michael Skurnik Wines, NY

SANCERRE
228605

91 | Domaine Vacheron

$150

2010 Sancerre Les Marnes ^ This is a selection from distinctive soil on one of the
Vacherons' southeast-facing hillsides. They
describe it as marne de crétacée, loamy clay
packed with fossilized seashells, where the

biodynamically farmed vines are now 35
years old. The rose fragrance and the mineral
tension of the wine lend it delicate length.
Classical in style, clean and still lively at eight
years of age, this is a delicious and intriguing
rarity. § North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA
228370

88 | Domaine Paul Prieur

$25

2015 Sancerre (Best Buy) ^ This is a meaty
Sancerre rouge, its wild-strawberry flavors
tied to notes of saucisson sec. That spicy,
fatty, umami flavor contrasts the crunchiness
of the fruit, setting the wine up for country
pâté. § Verity Wine Partners, NY

SAUMUR
227252

92 | Château de Brézé

$30

91 | Château de Brézé

$20

91 | Château du Hureau

$20

88 | Dom. Régnier-David

$18

WINE & SPIRITS

125

2014 Saumur Clos du Tue-Loup ^ Arnaud
Lambert makes this wine from a parcel of
vines on clay with limestone rock, close to
the tuffeau underneath. It's a raven-black
franc with dark scents of cigar tobacco and
generously heady blue fruit. The tannins
feel digestible, lending the kind of tension
and umami richness that a wild mushroom
sauce would add to tenderloin steak. § Grand
Cru Selections, NY
227251
2016 Saumur Clos Mazurique (Best Buy) ^
This light, frisky cabernet franc grows in a
parcel of sand and clay over tuffeau 12 inches
below; the site includes silex from an ancient
flood, stones that help hold warmth in the
soil at night. It's tobacco fresh and cherry
clean, the kind of fragrant, juicy red that
disappears out of the bottle quickly. § Grand
Cru Selections, NY
228556
2014 Saumur-Champigny Tuffe (Best Buy) ^
A blend of 15 estate parcels with varied expositions and soils, all of those soils layered
over tuffeau, this is a delicious young cabernet franc, a wine with the fresh flavor of
dark red berries and wild blueberries, and a
brisk mineral drive. An undertow of acidity
seems to tug on the sweet scents of tobacco in
the fruit, creating a lasting, earthy perfume. §
Polaner Selections, Mount Kisco, NY
227750
2014 Saumur Le Paradis (Best Buy) ^ There's
enough intriguing fruit here to balance the
sweaty-saddle-and-horse scents of Brett,
the wine finishing clean rather than funky,
with spicy tannins for flank steak or offal. § T.
Edward Wines, NY

APRIL 2018



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - April 2018

Contents
Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - Cover1
Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - Cover2
Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - 1
Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - 2
Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - 3
Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - 4
Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - Contents
Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - 6
Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - 7
Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - 8
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Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - Cover3
Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - Cover4
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