Loire Valley

Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur lie: light, salty, lemony white made for oysters.

The Atlantic end of the valley grows Melon de Bourgogne for crisp, low-alcohol whites. 'Sur lie' bottlings rest on their yeast for extra texture; a good grower's bottle costs little and drinks far above its price.

The Atlantic end of the valley grows Melon de Bourgogne for crisp, low-alcohol whites. 'Sur lie' bottlings rest on their yeast for extra texture; a good grower's bottle costs little and drinks far above its price.

Crémant de Loire - celebration bubbles at a weeknight price.

Bottle-fermented sparkling from Saumur cellars. For a special occasion, step up to a long-aged prestige cuvée or Huet's Pétillant instead of Champagne.

Bottle-fermented sparkling from Saumur cellars. For a special occasion, step up to a long-aged prestige cuvée or Huet's Pétillant instead of Champagne.

Oysters, mussels and shellfish + Muscadet sur lie.

The Atlantic end of the Loire's own match: a light, salty, lemony white that tastes of the sea alongside the seafood from the same coast.

The Atlantic end of the Loire's own match: a light, salty, lemony white that tastes of the sea alongside the seafood from the same coast.

Savennières or top single-vineyard Vouvray to lay down.

Dry Chenin that improves for a decade or more - the Loire's serious white for your cellar.

Dry Chenin that improves for a decade or more - the Loire's serious white for your cellar.

Blue cheese or foie gras + Quarts de Chaume.

A rich sweet Chenin with salty blue cheese or silky foie gras is a classic contrast of sweet and savoury.

A rich sweet Chenin with salty blue cheese or silky foie gras is a classic contrast of sweet and savoury.

Natural find: dry Anjou Chenin, Grolleau or pét-nat from a small grower.

Vivid, low-sulphur wines that rarely reach shops abroad. Keep them cool and drink them within the year.

Vivid, low-sulphur wines that rarely reach shops abroad. Keep them cool and drink them within the year.

Muscadet + a village name (Clisson, Gorges, Le Pallet) = the serious, aged tier.

Above everyday Muscadet sits a small group of 'crus communaux': named villages whose wines come from older vines, are picked riper and rest much longer on their lees. They are fuller, more mineral and can age.

Above everyday Muscadet sits a small group of 'crus communaux': named villages whose wines come from older vines, are picked riper and rest much longer on their lees. They are fuller, more mineral and can age.

Cabernet Franc: sand and gravel give light reds; limestone slopes give serious ones.

In Chinon, Bourgueil and Saumur-Champigny, vines on sandy or gravelly river terraces make juicy, early-drinking reds. Limestone and clay slopes give darker, firmer wines that need a few years.

In Chinon, Bourgueil and Saumur-Champigny, vines on sandy or gravelly river terraces make juicy, early-drinking reds. Limestone and clay slopes give darker, firmer wines that need a few years.

Chinon and Bourgueil: Touraine's juicy, leafy Cabernet Franc - the classic bistro red.

Raspberry, violet, a herbal, pencil-shaving edge and fresh acidity. Light versions from riverside gravel are lovely slightly chilled; slope wines from limestone are deeper and age well.

Raspberry, violet, a herbal, pencil-shaving edge and fresh acidity. Light versions from riverside gravel are lovely slightly chilled; slope wines from limestone are deeper and age well.

Savennières and dry Anjou Chenin: powerful, stony, long-lived dry whites.

Steep schist slopes west of Angers make full-bodied dry Chenin with quince, chamomile, honey and fierce acidity that softens over years. Around it, a wave of natural Anjou growers makes some of France's most exciting dry whites.

Steep schist slopes west of Angers make full-bodied dry Chenin with quince, chamomile, honey and fierce acidity that softens over years. Around it, a wave of natural Anjou growers makes some of France's most exciting dry whites.

Coteaux du Layon, Bonnezeaux, Quarts de Chaume: honeyed sweet Chenin with fresh acidity.

Misty autumns along the little Layon river bring noble rot and shrivelled grapes. The wines taste of apricot, quince and honey but stay lively thanks to Chenin's acidity. Coteaux du Layon is the good-value entry; Quarts de Chaume and Bonnezeaux are the top.

Misty autumns along the little Layon river bring noble rot and shrivelled grapes. The wines taste of apricot, quince and honey but stay lively thanks to Chenin's acidity. Coteaux du Layon is the good-value entry; Quarts de Chaume and Bonnezeaux are the top.

Top Chenin is picked in several passes - a sign of care and cost.

Chenin ripens unevenly, and in good autumns some berries shrivel or catch noble rot. Quality growers pick the same rows several times, sorting fruit for dry, off-dry and sweet wines.

Chenin ripens unevenly, and in good autumns some berries shrivel or catch noble rot. Quality growers pick the same rows several times, sorting fruit for dry, off-dry and sweet wines.

Natural Loire: biodynamic farming, wild yeasts, little or no sulphur, often Vin de France.

Anjou in particular drew newcomers in the 1990s who farm biodynamically, add little or nothing in the cellar and often leave the appellation system. Expect dry Chenin, light Grolleau and pét-nat.

Anjou in particular drew newcomers in the 1990s who farm biodynamically, add little or nothing in the cellar and often leave the appellation system. Expect dry Chenin, light Grolleau and pét-nat.

Grolleau and Gamay: light, juicy reds loved by natural growers.

Grolleau, once used for sweetish rosé, is now prized by Anjou's natural winemakers for pale, chillable, low-alcohol reds. Gamay plays a similar role in Touraine.

Grolleau, once used for sweetish rosé, is now prized by Anjou's natural winemakers for pale, chillable, low-alcohol reds. Gamay plays a similar role in Touraine.

Anjou noir / Anjou blanc: dark schist country vs white limestone country.

Growers split Anjou into 'black' slate and volcanic soils around the Layon, giving spicy, sombre Chenin, and 'white' limestone near Saumur, giving finer, chalkier wines.

Growers split Anjou into 'black' slate and volcanic soils around the Layon, giving spicy, sombre Chenin, and 'white' limestone near Saumur, giving finer, chalkier wines.

Jo Landron: biodynamic Muscadet with a soil name on every bottle; Amphibolite is the classic.

One of the growers who gave modern Muscadet its identity. Amphibolite is the bright, early-drinking sur lie; the cru bottlings show how far Melon can go.

Jo Landron farms biodynamically and names his wines after the rocks beneath them, which makes his range a lesson in how soil shapes Muscadet. Amphibolite, from a dark metamorphic rock, is the light, saline, citrusy sur lie to drink young with shellfish - an easy bistro order. The longer-aged cru and parcel wines are fuller, smokier and more textured, and they show why the best Muscadet deserves to be treated as a serious, ageable white rather than a cheap carafe wine. The domaine also makes sparkling wine. If you only try one serious Muscadet producer, this is a reliable first name.

Bernard Baudry: Chinon by soil - gravel cuvées to drink, limestone ones to keep.

An organic family estate in Cravant-les-Coteaux bottling each terroir separately. Les Granges and Les Grézeaux are bright and early; La Croix Boissée is the cellar wine.

Bernard Baudry started with two hectares in 1975; his son Matthieu joined in 2000 and the estate, now around 32 hectares and certified organic, is widely regarded as one of Chinon's best. Grapes are hand-picked and fermented with native yeasts, with low sulphur. The range is a lesson in soil: Les Granges, from young vines on sandy gravel, is the juicy, cool-served bistro wine; Les Grézeaux, from old vines on gravel, adds depth while staying fresh; Clos Guillot and La Croix Boissée come from limestone-clay slopes and are darker, firmer and built to age for a decade or more. A Chenin Blanc white and a rosé complete the range. Taste two side by side and you understand Chinon.

François Chidaine: biodynamic Montlouis, parcel by parcel; Clos du Breuil and Les Bournais.

The grower behind Montlouis's revival. Les Choisilles shows the house style; Clos du Breuil and Clos Habert are the top dry and off-dry sites.

François Chidaine took over his parents' 13 hectares in 1999 and has grown the estate to around 50, mostly in Montlouis with Chenin in Vouvray and other grapes in Touraine. Farming moved from organic to biodynamic, with cover crops and sheep between the rows, and every parcel is fermented separately with native yeasts and no fining. Montlouis sits on the south bank opposite Vouvray, on tuffeau chalk and flinty clay, and Chidaine's wines show its precise, slightly spicy side. Les Choisilles blends several parcels and is the representative bottle; Clos du Breuil is pure and elegant; Clos Habert has more aromatic richness; Les Bournais, from a plot above the river, is the newest. His fresher Touraine wines are the weeknight option. Montlouis generally costs less than Vouvray for comparable quality.

Nicolas Joly: Coulée de Serrant, a single-owner vineyard and biodynamic landmark.

Joly farms the entire Coulée de Serrant, a slope with its own appellation, and pioneered biodynamics in France. Les Vieux Clos is the easier way in.

Nicolas Joly took over the family estate, Château de la Roche aux Moines, and from the early 1980s turned it into a laboratory for biodynamic farming; his books and talks persuaded many famous estates to follow. The jewel is Coulée de Serrant, a steep, river-facing slope owned entirely by the family and one of very few French vineyards with an appellation all to itself. The wines are full, dense and unlike any other Chenin, and they reward patience, decanting and an open mind. Clos de la Bergerie (Savennières-Roche-aux-Moines) and Les Vieux Clos (Savennières) come from neighbouring plots; Les Vieux Clos is the most approachable. Daughter Virginie now runs much of the estate day to day.

Domaine Huet: Vouvray's benchmark - three single vineyards, every sweetness, biodynamic.

Le Haut-Lieu, Le Mont and Clos du Bourg are each bottled sec, demi-sec or moelleux depending on the vintage. The long-aged Pétillant is a superb local celebration wine.

Founded in 1928 and made famous by Gaston Huet, the estate has been owned by the Hwang family since 2003 and was an early convert to biodynamic farming. It farms three walled or named vineyards on the limestone-rich clay of Vouvray's première côte, and the vintage decides how sweet each wine will be. Le Haut-Lieu, the original vineyard on deeper brown clay, is the most open young; Le Mont, on stony green clay, starts reserved and ages magnificently; Clos du Bourg, the shallowest and stoniest, gives the deepest wines. In great sweet years Moelleux Première Trie and the rare Cuvée Constance come from selected berries. The Pétillant, gently sparkling and aged years before release, is a beautiful alternative to Champagne. Start with a Le Haut-Lieu sec or demi-sec.

Dagueneau: Pouilly-Fumé at its most intense; Silex is the flint-grown flagship.

The 'wild man of Pouilly' rewrote what Sauvignon could be; his son Louis-Benjamin carries on. Silex and Buisson Renard are cellar wines; Blanc Etc. is the way in.

Didier Dagueneau, nicknamed the wild man of Pouilly, set out to prove that Loire Sauvignon could age like great white Burgundy, with fanatical vineyard work, low yields and barrel fermentation. After his death in 2008 his son Louis-Benjamin took over and has kept the estate at the top. Silex, from flinty high slopes at Saint-Andelain, is the flagship: austere and smoky young, it opens over five to ten years into stone fruit, flowers and mineral depth. Buisson Renard is a single mid-slope parcel with more texture; the Sancerre Les Monts Damnés comes from steep chalky clay near Chavignol; Blanc Etc., from younger vines, introduces the style. Prices are high and supply small, but even one glass recalibrates what Sauvignon can do.

Richard Leroy: cult dry Chenin from Anjou, biodynamic, no added sulphur.

A former banker who turned from sweet wine to intense dry Chenin on the volcanic soils above the Layon. Les Noëls de Montbenault is the famous one; Les Rouliers the more findable.

Richard Leroy arrived in Anjou in the 1990s from a career in Paris banking and became, with Mark Angeli, a founding figure of the modern dry, biodynamic Anjou Chenin movement. His vineyards near Faye-d'Anjou sit on the dark, volcanic-derived soils locals call 'black Anjou'. He picks fully ripe, ferments dry in neutral barrels and since 2011 has bottled without any added sulphur - unusual for a grape as prone to oxidation as Chenin. Les Noëls de Montbenault, from an old-vine hilltop parcel, is intensely concentrated and tightly allocated; Les Rouliers, from his other parcels, gives the style for less. Both are sold as Vin de France rather than Anjou, so look for his name, not the appellation. Both sell out to restaurants and allocation lists, so if you see one on a wine list in Angers or Paris, it is a rare chance.

Yannick Amirault: organic Bourgueil; Le Grand Clos and La Petite Cave are the cellar wines.

A family grower whose named cuvées show how serious Bourgueil can be. La Mine and Les Quartiers complete the top of the range.

The Amirault family farms organically in Bourgueil and neighbouring Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, the two red appellations on the north bank opposite Chinon. Bourgueil's reputation is for firmer, more tannic Cabernet Franc than Chinon, especially from its limestone slopes, and Amirault bottles plots separately to show it. Le Grand Clos and La Petite Cave are the most structured and need several years to open into dark-fruited, graphite-edged wines; Les Quartiers and La Mine are other named cuvées in the range. The domaine's easier cuvées make juicy, early-drinking red to serve cool. If you want to see Loire Cabernet Franc at full stretch without Clos Rougeard prices, this is a sound choice.

Atlantic at one end, continental at the other - style changes with distance upriver.

Near Nantes the sea keeps things mild and damp, giving light, saline Muscadet. Inland through Anjou and Touraine it warms and dries enough for Chenin and Cabernet Franc, and by Sancerre the climate is continental, with sharper, more aromatic Sauvignon.

Near Nantes the sea keeps things mild and damp, giving light, saline Muscadet. Inland through Anjou and Touraine it warms and dries enough for Chenin and Cabernet Franc, and by Sancerre the climate is continental, with sharper, more aromatic Sauvignon.

In the glass: West: lighter, saltier whites. Centre: rounder Chenin, riper reds. East: zesty, flinty Sauvignon.

Cabernet Franc: sand and gravel give light reds; limestone slopes give serious ones.

In Chinon, Bourgueil and Saumur-Champigny, vines on sandy or gravelly river terraces make juicy, early-drinking reds. Limestone and clay slopes give darker, firmer wines that need a few years.

In Chinon, Bourgueil and Saumur-Champigny, vines on sandy or gravelly river terraces make juicy, early-drinking reds. Limestone and clay slopes give darker, firmer wines that need a few years.

In the glass: Gravel/sand: raspberry, soft, drink cool and young. Limestone: dark fruit, firmer tannin, ages 10+ years.

Top Chenin is picked in several passes - a sign of care and cost.

Chenin ripens unevenly, and in good autumns some berries shrivel or catch noble rot. Quality growers pick the same rows several times, sorting fruit for dry, off-dry and sweet wines.

Chenin ripens unevenly, and in good autumns some berries shrivel or catch noble rot. Quality growers pick the same rows several times, sorting fruit for dry, off-dry and sweet wines.

In the glass: Riper, purer, more concentrated wines; the richest sweet wines come from the last passes.

In Sancerre and Pouilly, flint gives smoky Sauvignon; limestone and marl give rounder, fruitier wine.

Sauvignon grown on flinty clay tastes smoky and steely and lasts longer; chalky and marly slopes give more citrus and body. Famous slopes such as Les Monts Damnés near Chavignol command higher prices.

Sauvignon grown on flinty clay tastes smoky and steely and lasts longer; chalky and marly slopes give more citrus and body. Famous slopes such as Les Monts Damnés near Chavignol command higher prices.

In the glass: Flint: smoke, gunflint, tension. Limestone/marl: grapefruit, fuller body, earlier appeal.

Sur lie: Muscadet rests on its yeast for texture and a light prickle.

Instead of being racked off its spent yeast, Muscadet stays on the lees through winter and is bottled from them. The wine gains a creamy, bready layer and a faint spritz; the crus rest much longer.

Instead of being racked off its spent yeast, Muscadet stays on the lees through winter and is bottled from them. The wine gains a creamy, bready layer and a faint spritz; the crus rest much longer.

In the glass: Rounder texture, yeasty depth, freshness; long-aged crus become nutty and complex.

Chalk cellars and bottle fermentation make the Saumur and Vouvray sparkling.

Miles of cool caves dug into the soft tuffeau store bottles fermenting a second time. Chenin's acidity suits sparkling wine; it gives smoky, toasty notes rather than Champagne's bready ones.

Miles of cool caves dug into the soft tuffeau store bottles fermenting a second time. Chenin's acidity suits sparkling wine; it gives smoky, toasty notes rather than Champagne's bready ones.

In the glass: Crisp apple and quince, fine bubbles, smoky-toasty notes with lees age.

The vintage decides: the same Chenin vineyard can be dry one year, sweet the next.

Top Vouvray and Montlouis growers wait to see how the autumn goes. In cool years they make dry and sparkling wine; in warm, misty years with noble rot they make demi-sec and moelleux.

Top Vouvray and Montlouis growers wait to see how the autumn goes. In cool years they make dry and sparkling wine; in warm, misty years with noble rot they make demi-sec and moelleux.

In the glass: Year-to-year swings in style; check the sweetness word, not just the vineyard name.

Natural Loire: biodynamic farming, wild yeasts, little or no sulphur, often Vin de France.

Anjou in particular drew newcomers in the 1990s who farm biodynamically, add little or nothing in the cellar and often leave the appellation system. Expect dry Chenin, light Grolleau and pét-nat.

Anjou in particular drew newcomers in the 1990s who farm biodynamically, add little or nothing in the cellar and often leave the appellation system. Expect dry Chenin, light Grolleau and pét-nat.

In the glass: Vivid, textured, sometimes cloudy or wild; lighter reds; unusual flavours worth exploring.

Barrel-fermented Sauvignon and Chenin: the growers aiming for age-worthy whites.

Most Loire whites are made in tank to keep them crisp. A few top growers ferment in barrel for texture and longevity, without wanting obvious oak flavour.

The Loire's default for Sauvignon and Chenin is cool fermentation in steel or old vats, which keeps the fruit crisp and the acidity bright - ideal for young drinking. A group of ambitious growers takes a different path. In Pouilly-Fumé, Didier Dagueneau fermented in barrel to give Sauvignon the weight and longevity of great white Burgundy; in Sancerre, Vacheron's Les Romains is aged in neutral oak; in Anjou, Richard Leroy ferments dry Chenin in old barrels. The goal is texture and the ability to age, not vanilla. Vouvray rarely sees new oak, while dry Anjou Chenin more often does. These wines can taste tight on release: give them five years, decant, and serve cool rather than cold.

In the glass: Fuller texture, more complexity with age, little obvious oak flavour.