Producer: Le Batossay
Grape: Grolleau 
Color: Red
Sparkling: -
Vintage: 2020
Country: France
Region: Loire
Subregion: Anjou-Saumur
Alcohol: 11%

Aging in wood: Yes
Soil: Clay, Loam
Added S02: No

Funkyness: Mild

Tasting Notes: Baptiste Cousin's "Ouech' Cousin" is a real treat. With a Grolleau in carbonic maceration, one can expect something a little too "light"... Here, of course, one finds that suppleness, crisp red fruit and the freshness typical of this grape variety, but the mouth remains silky, delicate and ripe, proof of a healthy harvest harvested at maturity. The Domaine Batossay still offers a wine of disconcerting ease but which does not lack depth.

Producer: Côme Isambert
Grape: Cabernet Franc, Gamay, Grolleau Gris 
Color: Red
Sparkling: -
Vintage: 2019
Country: France
Region: Loire
Subregion: Anjou-Saumur
Alcohol: 11.6%

Aging in wood: Yes
Soil: Limestone
Added S02: No

Funkyness: Mild

Tasting Notes: This wine tends to be his lighter red, a vin de soif which still has a touch of structure and elegance. Most of this feel comes from the fact that the wine is mostly made up of what is called the running juice. In what I often see repeated with small winemakers, they will make a different ageing to this juice, which naturally comes from the grapes during the maceration and the press juice, which comes from when they actually press the grapes. The running juice tends to give a lighter wine in feel and structure. In 2019 this is around 85% Gamay from a grower called Patrick Thomas in Saint Georges sur Layon, grown on limestone. Côme gave the grapes a 12 day carbonic maceration, then aged in tank, before blending before bottling with just a touch of his Grolleau Noir 2018 and Cabernet Franc 2017, which all came from the same grower. Both of which he already had ageing in his cellar. The idea is to just to give a touch of structure to the wine.

Producer: Noella Morantin
Grape: Côt 
Color: Red
Sparkling: -
Vintage: 2018
Country: France
Region: Loire
Subregion: Anjou-Saumur
Alcohol: 14%

Aging in wood: Yes
Soil: Clay, Limestone
Added S02: Yes

Funkyness: Clean

Tasting Notes: This cuvée is made from Côt vines, the name given to Malbec in Touraine. We love the expression of this grape variety in the Loire Valley because, unlike the more "southern" wines (Cahors in particular), the region's climate allows the wines to retain a beautiful freshness. Noëlla offers us a little jewel with "Côt à Côt", a cuvée which seduces by its fruit, its greediness and its slightly spicy character. The tannins are present but fine and the wine keeps a very nice freshness.

Producer: Noella Morantin
Grape: Côt, Cabernet Franc 
Color: Red
Sparkling: -
Vintage: 2017
Country: France
Region: Loire
Subregion: Anjou-Saumur
Alcohol: 12%

Aging in wood: Yes
Soil: Clay, Limestone
Added S02: Yes

Funkyness: Clean

Tasting Notes: The colour is deep, the nose on ripe fruits, it is ample, the tannins are there but fine and the length is present. It is magnificent!

Producer: Noella Morantin
Grape: Sauvignon Blanc 
Color: White
Sparkling: -
Vintage: 2018
Country: France
Region: Loire
Subregion: Anjou-Saumur
Alcohol: 13.5%

Aging in wood: Yes
Soil: Clay, Limestone
Added S02: Yes

Funkyness: Clean

Tasting Notes: Noëlla knows how to show us how elegant this grape variety can be in the Loire Valley when it is cultivated and vinified with care, at reasonable yields. On opening, we immediately feel the characteristic notes of Sauvignon harvested at perfect maturity, as we like them. The clear, limpid colour is a pretty straw yellow. On the palate, there is a perfect balance between minerality and sweetness. It is long, salivating and so good that we want more!

Producer: Noella Morantin
Grape: Sauvignon Blanc 
Color: White
Sparkling: -
Vintage: 2018
Country: France
Region: Loire
Subregion: Anjou-Saumur
Alcohol: 13%

Aging in wood: Yes
Soil: Clay, Limestone
Added S02: Yes

Funkyness: Clean

Tasting Notes: Stella Maris is made using Sauvignon Blanc grapes bought in from the other Touraine grower wayward import, Mikaël Bouges. The resulting wine is very different to your typical white from this region; first of all the grapes are allowed to fully ripen before picking, meaning an absence of those green, underripe flavours. Second, after fermentation the wine is allowed rest for a little over a year in old barrels and only once the sugar has completely fermented out of the wine (a completely natural process with the native yeasts) is it ready for bottling. The fruit has an almost tropical lilt to it, with the time in barrel rounding it out nicely. Impeccably clean and crystalline, this is Noëlla’s entry-level Sauvignon that delivers pleasure in spades.

Producer: Côme Isambert
Grape: Chenin Blanc 
Color: White
Sparkling: -
Vintage: 2020
Country: France
Region: Loire
Subregion: Anjou-Saumur
Alcohol: 13%

Aging in wood: Yes
Soil: Limestone
Added S02: No

Funkyness: Mild

Tasting Notes: 100% Chenin Blanc, grown on clay-limestone and shale soils. Blend of different vintages, a part of which ages thirty months in 500-litre barriques, another 12 months in tanks. Complex and round, with a fresh acidity towards the finish.

Producer: Côme Isambert
Grape: Grolleau 
Color: Red
Sparkling: -
Vintage: 2018
Country: France
Region: Loire
Subregion: Anjou-Saumur
Alcohol: 12%

Aging in wood: Yes
Soil: Limestone
Added S02: No

Funkyness: Mild

Tasting Notes: 100% Grolleau Noir from Saint Georges sur Layon, grown on schiste a very good year for Grolleau. Destemmed by hand - 3 weeks in tanks punchdowned by hand, pressing off in a vertical press and blending press and running juice. Aged in two barrels - 600l barrel for 20 months. There were a few bunches in the tank to help filter the wine which also infused into the wine to give some structure. A wonderfully deep and elegant Grolleau which is drinking well now, but will age wonderfully.

Producer: Côme Isambert
Grape: Cabernet Franc 
Color: Red
Sparkling: -
Vintage: 2017
Country: France
Region: Loire
Subregion: Anjou-Saumur
Alcohol: 13.5%

Aging in wood: Yes
Soil: Limestone
Added S02: No

Funkyness: Mild

Tasting Notes: Conversely, the Little Robin uses the press juice from the same Gamay as went into his Onomatopee wine in 2019. This is then put into old barrels before being blended with a large proportion of Cabernet Franc from 2017 which had already had a long thirty month ageing in in barrel to smooth out the tannins. He likes to make this blend to give fruit and acidity to the depth and structure in the Cabernet. The wine is elegant, soft and spicy, a great bottle for dinner, particularly with grilled meats.

Producer: Côme Isambert
Grape: Cabernet Franc 
Color: Red
Sparkling: -
Vintage: 2015
Country: France
Region: Loire
Subregion: Anjou-Saumur
Alcohol: 12%

Aging in wood: Yes
Soil: Limestone
Added S02: No

Funkyness: Mild

Tasting Notes: Côme Isambert with help from Francois Saint-lo & Olivier Schwirtz have purchased the wine from the last vintages of Clos Cristal that was in the cellar and bottled it without additions, under the protest Cristal Closed label designed by Justine Saint-lo. These wines are history in a bottle. Chiselled from Limestone soils, this a deep smokey and velvety Cabernet that just gets better and better with age.

Producer: François Saint-Lô
Grape: Chenin Blanc 
Color: White
Sparkling: -
Vintage: 2017
Country: France
Region: Loire
Subregion: Anjou-Saumur
Alcohol: 13%

Aging in wood: Yes
Soil:
Added S02: No

Funkyness: Mild

Tasting Notes: The very first vintage of a new cuvée of Chenin Blanc that comes from a parcel that François is now leasing from Sylvain Dittiere. The parcel is situated in an old river bed and the vines are about 30 years old. A third of the harvest macerated whole bunches for about 2 weeks, while the rest were pressed directly. They were kept separate in 600L barrels plus the Stockinger (1200L), then the whole thing was put together a few weeks before bottling. Super texture, incredible fruit, almost tropical but with lots of minerality. If the day is any indication...!

Producer: François Saint-Lô
Grape: Grolleau 
Color: Rosé
Sparkling: Pet Nat
Vintage: 2018
Country: France
Region: Loire
Subregion: Anjou-Saumur
Alcohol: 11%

Aging in wood: Yes
Soil:
Added S02: No

Funkyness: Mild

Tasting Notes: This is a blend of two thirds Gamay & one third Grolleau, from the parcels that go into Hey gro! & Hey Gamin! It was left on the lees in bottle for just over a year before disgorgement by hand. Brilliantly bright fruit, very varietal and delicious dark sparkling rosé.

Producer: François Saint-Lô
Grape: Cabernet Franc 
Color: Red
Sparkling: -
Vintage: 2017
Country: France
Region: Loire
Subregion: Anjou-Saumur
Alcohol: 12.5%

Aging in wood: Yes
Soil:
Added S02: No

Funkyness: Mild

Tasting Notes: The most sublime Cabernet Franc from this prodigious young Loire vigneron. The vines in the Palennes vineyard are well established (around 70 years old) and the fruit is of excellent quality. Here the grapes go through vinification as a blend of both destemmed and whole clusters - this technique results in an extraordinarily fine tannic structure once the wine is complete, as the contact between the must and the grape stems is carefully managed. There is always great depth in the Cabernet Franc of Saint-Lô; the black cherry fruit, bitter dark chocolate and the characteristic herbaceous bearing of the varietal all marry perfectly. The wine is polished and smooth. BOOM!!!

Producer: François Saint-Lô
Grape: Cabernet Franc 
Color: Red
Sparkling: -
Vintage: 2016
Country: France
Region: Loire
Subregion: Anjou-Saumur
Alcohol: 12.5%

Aging in wood: Yes
Soil:
Added S02: No

Funkyness: Mild

Tasting Notes: Les Bois Guyon is Francois' Cabernet Franc from 80 year old vines grown in limestone. The handpicked grapes are de-stemmed, macerated on skins for 10 days then pressed into 400 litres barrels where it ages for 2 and a half years before bottling. An enchanting and ethereal wine with lifted, floral aromatics and savoury game, wood and mineral notes on the palate.

Producer: François Saint-Lô
Grape: Gamay 
Color: Red
Sparkling: -
Vintage: 2019
Country: France
Region: Loire
Subregion: Anjou-Saumur
Alcohol: 11%

Aging in wood: Yes
Soil:
Added S02: No

Funkyness: Mild

Tasting Notes: Spontaneous fermentation with carbonic maceration with whole bunches and not destemmed for 10 days in old barrels. Amazing intensity and acidity for this juicy, fruity wine from a small parcel of Gamay (0.3 hectares). The grapes are macerated in "whole bunch".

Producer: Nicolas Reau
Grape: Cabernet Franc 
Color: Red
Sparkling: -
Vintage: 2018
Country: France
Region: Loire
Subregion: Anjou-Saumur
Alcohol: 13.5%

Aging in wood: Yes
Soil: Clay, Limestone, Alluvial Silt, Gravel
Added S02: No

Funkyness: Mild

Tasting Notes: Aged 6 months in concrete vats, it should be drunk young in order to take advantage of its fruit and brilliance. Its soil gives it an incredible aromatic complexity at this level: fruit, fruit and more fruit.

Producer: Nicolas Reau
Grape: Chenin 
Color: White
Sparkling: -
Vintage: 2019
Country: France
Region: Loire
Subregion: Anjou-Saumur
Alcohol: 11.5%

Aging in wood: Yes
Soil: Clay, Limestone
Added S02: No

Funkyness: Mild

Tasting Notes: Fresh, light and lean. Notes of zesty citrus brighten up the minerality brought by the silty soil where this Chenin grows. Almost astringent, mega dry, and pleasantly austere acidity. A dazzling color, liveliness, fruit, a beautiful balance and bite, enough to be enjoyed right away.

Producer: Le Batossay
Grape: Gamay 
Color: Red
Sparkling: -
Vintage: 2019
Country: France
Region: Loire
Subregion: Anjou-Saumur
Alcohol: 11%

Aging in wood: Yes
Soil: Silt
Added S02: No

Funkyness: Mild

Tasting Notes: Earthy, farmy, but full of red fruit & cranberry with tons of baking spices & cinnamon

Producer: Terre de l'Elu
Grape: Pineau d'Aunis 
Color: Red
Sparkling: -
Vintage: 2018
Country: France
Region: Loire
Subregion: Anjou-Saumur
Alcohol: 12%

Aging in wood: yes
Soil: Quartz Sandstone, Marl
Added S02: Yes

Funkyness: Mild

Tasting Notes: Light garnet colour, floral and peppery aromas (Sechuan pepper, pink berries), frank attack on spice evolving towards floral notes. A delicate palate, long and precise finish. A wine marked by finesse and elegance

Producer: Terre de l'Élu
Grape: Grolleau Gris 
Color: Rosé
Sparkling: -
Vintage: 2016
Country: France
Region: Loire
Subregion: Anjou-Saumur
Alcohol: 12%

Aging in wood: No
Soil: Schist
Added S02: No

Funkiness: Clean

Tasting Notes: The bouquet evokes Mediterranean fragrances: dried herbs, spices, citrus fruits (orange). A powerful and balanced wine. Tannins present without being imposing, roundness without heaviness. Let yourself be surprised!

Producer: Terre de l'Élu
Grape: Chenin 
Color: White
Sparkling: -
Vintage: 2018
Country: France
Region: Loire
Subregion: Anjou-Saumur
Alcohol: 14.5%

Aging in wood: Yes
Soil: Schist
Added S02: No

Funkiness: Clean

Tasting Notes: Beautiful balance between tension and complexity. The nose, deep and complex, reveals buttery aromas. The attack, ample and fat, then lets express a superb minerality very typical of schist soils and beautiful citrus notes reminiscent of candied lemon.

Producer: Terre de l'Élu
Grape: Chenin 
Color: White
Sparkling: -
Vintage: 2017
Country: France
Region: Loire
Subregion: Anjou-Saumur
Alcohol: 14%

Aging in wood: No
Soil: Sandstone
Added S02: No

Funkiness: Clean

Tasting Notes: Aged in amphora. Perfect balance of acidity, roundness and finesse. Let it open for a while before drinking. After that, phenomenal Chenin!

Producer: Terre de l'Elu
Grape: Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon 
Color: White
Sparkling: -
Vintage: 2015
Country: France
Region: Loire
Subregion: Anjou-Saumur
Alcohol: 14%

Aging in wood: no
Soil: Gravel
Added S02: Yes

Funkyness: Mild

Tasting Notes: fruit driven, lush and grippy body

Producer: Terre de l'Elu
Grape: Cabernet Franc 
Color: Red
Sparkling: -
Vintage: 2018
Country: France
Region: Loire
Subregion: Anjou-Saumur
Alcohol: 13%

Aging in wood: no
Soil: Gravel
Added S02: Yes

Funkyness: Mild

Tasting Notes: complex, elegant with great lenght

Producer: Terre de l'Elu
Grape: Grolleau, Gamay, Cabernet Franc 
Color: Red
Sparkling: -
Vintage: 2018
Country: France
Region: Loire
Subregion: Anjou-Saumur
Alcohol: 13%

Aging in wood: yes
Soil: Gravel
Added S02: Yes

Funkyness: Mild

Tasting Notes: fruit driven, lush and grippy body

Producer: Bruno Dubois
Grape: Cabernet Franc 
Color: Red
Sparkling: -
Vintage: 2018
Country: France
Region: Loire
Subregion: Anjou-Saumur
Alcohol: 14%

Aging in wood: No
Soil: Clay
Added S02: No

Funkyness: Mild

Tasting Notes: Heartly Hints, Black Fruit, Strawberries. Tannic, Acid.

Producer: Bruno Dubois
Grape: Chenin Blanc 
Color: White
Sparkling: -
Vintage: 2018
Country: France
Region: Loire
Subregion: Anjou-Saumur
Alcohol: 13%

Aging in wood: No
Soil: Clay
Added S02: Yes

Funkyness: Mild

Tasting Notes: Butter, Cream, White Flowers. Salty, Acid

Producer: Bruno Dubois
Grape: Cabernet Franc 
Color: Red
Sparkling: -
Vintage: 2018
Country: France
Region: Loire
Subregion: Anjou-Saumur
Alcohol: 13%

Aging in wood: No
Soil: Clay
Added S02: No

Funkyness: Mild

Tasting Notes: Red Fruits, Strawberries, Herbs, Vegetable Hints. Very Fresh, Drinkable