Saumur-Champigny's grand cru: the Foucault brothers' 10 hectares of Cabernet Franc and old-vine Chenin at Chace, sold to the Bouygues family in 2017 after eight family generations.
Signature wines: clos-rougeard-le-bourg, clos-rougeard-les-poyeux, clos-rougeard-le-clos
Tip: Le Bourg from old vines is the appellation's reference grand-cru-class bottle; vintages 2005, 2009 and 2010 are the modern benchmarks.
Address: 14 Allee des Tilleuls, 49400 Chace (Bellevigne-les-Chateaux), France, Loire Valley
Dampierre-sur-Loire Saumur-Champigny estate of 18.5 hectares, certified organic since 2007, with cellars dug into the tuffeau cliffs above the Loire.
Tasting: Visits and tastings at the troglodyte cellars by appointment
Signature wines: hureau-fevettes, hureau-lisagathe, hureau-tuffe
Tip: Lisagathe, from the two best old-vine parcels, is the long-ageing flagship; book the troglodyte cellar visit.
Varrains domaine taken over by Thierry Germain in 1991, 28 hectares biodynamic, trained by the Foucaults of Clos Rougeard.
Tasting: Visits and tastings by appointment in Varrains
Signature wines: roches-neuves-cuvee-domaine, roches-neuves-clos-de-lechelier, roches-neuves-franc-de-pied
Tip: The Franc de Pied cuvee from ungrafted vines is the cellar-door rarity; the Cuvee Domaine is the textbook entry point.
Dampierre-sur-Loire Saumur-Champigny estate of 18.5 hectares, certified organic since 2007, with cellars dug into the tuffeau cliffs above the Loire.
Tasting: Visits and tastings at the troglodyte cellars by appointment
Signature wines: hureau-fevettes, hureau-lisagathe, hureau-tuffe
Tip: Lisagathe, from the two best old-vine parcels, is the long-ageing flagship; book the troglodyte cellar visit.
Varrains domaine taken over by Thierry Germain in 1991, 28 hectares biodynamic, trained by the Foucaults of Clos Rougeard.
Tasting: Visits and tastings by appointment in Varrains
Signature wines: roches-neuves-cuvee-domaine, roches-neuves-clos-de-lechelier, roches-neuves-franc-de-pied
Tip: The Franc de Pied cuvee from ungrafted vines is the cellar-door rarity; the Cuvee Domaine is the textbook entry point.
Le Landreau Muscadet pioneer: Guy Bossard converted to organic in 1975 and Demeter biodynamic in 1998; Fred and Claire Niger took over in 2010 and continue the legacy.
Tasting: Visits and tastings by appointment in Le Landreau
Signature wines: ecu-granite, ecu-orthogneiss, ecu-gneiss
Tip: Granite, Orthogneiss and Gneiss are the three soil-cuvee bottlings that mapped Muscadet's terroir before Cru Communals existed.
Le Landreau Muscadet powerhouse, ninth-generation Luneau family with 47 parcels across Chapelle-Heulin, Le Landreau and Vallet, biodynamic and pioneers of single-vineyard Muscadet.
Tasting: Visits and tastings by appointment in Le Landreau
Signature wines: luneau-papin-l-dor, luneau-papin-clos-des-allees, luneau-papin-pierre-de-la-grange
Tip: L d'Or from granite, Pierre de la Grange and the Clisson Cru Communal show three terroirs at the top of the appellation.
Maisdon-sur-Sevre estate established by Marc Ollivier in 1984, Cru Communal pioneer with Clisson, Gorges and Chateau-Thebaud bottlings.
Tasting: Visits and tastings by appointment at the Maisdon-sur-Sevre cellar
Signature wines: pepiere-clisson, pepiere-gorges, pepiere-la-pepie
Tip: Clisson from gabbro soils gets 24+ months of lees ageing; it ages 10-15 years and tastes like white Chassagne at one-third the price.
La Haye-Fouassiere estate uniting Domaine de la Louvetrie, Les Grands Houx and Chateau de la Carizere over 46 hectares, organic since 2000 and biodynamic.
Tasting: Visits and tastings at the La Haye-Fouassiere cellar by appointment
Signature wines: landron-amphibolite, landron-le-fief-du-breil, landron-clos-la-carizere
Tip: Amphibolite is the entry-point soil-cuvee; Le Fief du Breil is the long-aging old-vine flagship.
