Luxury (€200-500) in Loire Valley

Dry · Full-bodied · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

The Foucault brothers' cult Chenin Blanc from the Breze hillside at Coteaux de Saumur. Dense, mineral and lanolin-textured, with quince and beeswax built for two decades of cellaring.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Savoury

The estate's village-level cuvee, blending parcels around the cellars at Chace. More accessible than Le Bourg and Les Poyeux but with the Clos Rougeard signature: fine tannin, mineral length, and a perfumed lift.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Cult Anjou Chenin from a 0.7-hectare parcel of centenarian vines planted 1910 on chalky-clay plateau. A few thousand bottles a year of cellar-worthy dry Chenin Blanc, virtually impossible to find.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Savoury

Cult Anjou Chenin from 2 hectares of 30-year-old vines on schist and limestone. Delicate white fruit, clean mineral attack and pure gourmet fruit with saline chewiness.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Cult Saumur-Champigny from the Les Poyeux climat. More aromatic and slightly lighter-footed than Le Bourg, with dark cherry, tobacco and a long, fine-tannin mineral length.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Savoury

Cult Anjou Chenin from a 0.45-hectare parcel of 80-year-old vines on light limestone upstream of the Layon. The most lifted of Bernaudeau's three bottlings.

Dry · Full-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Savoury

Buisson Renard (formerly Buisson Ménard) is the broader, more exotic side of Dagueneau. Yellow plum and exotic spice over a full, ripe-fruited Sauvignon frame.

Dry · Full-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Pouilly-Fumé from Saint-Andelain flint terroir. Didier Dagueneau's flagship cuvée since 1990; pure pierre à fusil signature on a powerful, age-worthy frame.

Dessert · Full-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Foreau's most rarefied Moelleux. Produced only five times in the domaine's century-long history (1947, 1990, 2011, 2015, 2020).