Loire Small Wonders Case

Formerly labelled Cuvée Boisfleury, the wine is named Les Racines (The Roots) to continue the reference to terroir that runs across the range. Yields are low, grapes picked fully ripe, delivering volume underpinned by a streak of minerality and hint of gunflint.

From a meticulous parcel selection of 50-year-old vines, Rémus is a rich, expressive chenin blanc with impeccable balance. Low yields and a pursuit of full ripeness give this wine a seductive, textured character and elegant barrel-fermentation makes for that balance. Domaine de La Taille Aux Loups focuses on the chenin blanc grape and is now in the very capable hands of Jacky’s son, Jean-Philippe. He had a decade’s experience as the winemaker at what his father had made into arguably the best property in the Montlouis appellation.

A member favourite from the Cherrier family in this flagship Loire appellation, this Sancerre is creamy textured and fresh, with typical touch of salinity and a crisp finish. The Cherrier family have had vines in Sancerre since 1848 and today run a thriving wine business, at their Domaine de la Rossignole. It is managed by brothers François and Jean-Marie, who both trained in Beaune before returning to the family property to make wine. The domaine is near Verdigny and covers 14 hectares of vines, the majority of which are sauvignon blanc. More recently they have bought a property in Menetou-Salon.

From a cool year for pinot noir in the Loire`s Central Vineyards, this cuvée is a blend of three seperate plots and matured half in large oak casks and half in tank. The 2024 is fresh and grippy with bright cranberry, cherry, and baking spice notes. The cool year has produced a pinot of great charm and lovely perfume that's best served lightly chilled.

Crisp and mineral sauvignon blanc with aromas of wet slate, quince, and citrus peel with a bright, dry palate and perfume typical of top Pouilly Fumé. Set just behind the vines of Didier Dageneau, this small, modest family estate draws on old-vine parcels planted on the sunniest slopes of Saint-Andelain. The Saint-Laurent L'Abbaye vineyard dates to the 12th Century and is based on a combination of Kimmeridgian and Portlandian soils that give these wines their distinct minerality. Jean-Claude Chatelain has handed the riegns over to his son, Vincent, who carries on this famous property's legacy.

We’ve long been fans of the whites from the late Jacky Blot’s Taille Aux Loups, but this achingly fresh and characterful cabernet franc was just too good to ignore. Pied de la Butte comes from 30-year-old vines grown on limestone and clay at the foot of the Butte in Bourgueil and it’s the only wine in the range made entirely in stainless steel, which keeps things bright, fresh and vibrant. This is cab franc in its most joyful form: bursting with red fruit, a flick of spice and a touch of liquorice. Light, lively and packed with character, it’s a no-brainer with summer barbeque- brilliant value from one of the Loire’s legends.