The journey of Loire whites begins in Nantes with Muscadet, this maritime wine born in the 1630s that pairs so perfectly with oysters. Its secret? “Sur lie” aging, an ancestral winemaking technique that gives it that refreshing subtle sparkle.
Following the river upstream, we reach the tufa limestone territory where Chenin Blanc reigns supreme. In Savennières, on just 156 hectares of schist soils, meditation wines are born that can age for 30 years. In Saumur, a new generation of talented winemakers is awakening the extraordinary potential of Chenin on these ancient limestone soils. Further east in Vouvray, the monks of Marmoutier Abbey had already spotted these slopes’ unique potential back in the 6th century.
Even further east, Sauvignon Blanc rules. The winemakers of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé tend their vines on 150-million-year-old limestone soils. It’s this gunflint terroir that gives the wines their characteristic mineral notes, making wine lovers worldwide salivate ever since the Augustinian monks planted the first vines in the 12th century.
