46 APRIL 2019
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2017 CLÉMENT ET FLORIAN BERTHIER
COTEAUX DU GIENNOIS BLANC ($17)
The little-known Coteaux du Giennois lies
about an hour north of Sancerre. While its
wines can be hard to find, this herbal, citrus-
pithy white shows they’re worth hunting for.
2017 DOMAINE MÉRIEAU L’ARPENT DES
VAUDONS TOURAINE ($15)
Ripe grapefruit flavors and a smoky finish
make this Sauvignon Blanc impossible not
to love. (Mérieau’s other Sauvignon bottling,
Les Hexagonales, is also a great buy.)
2017 DOMAINE FOURNIER PÈRE ET FILS
SAUVIGNON BLANC ($16)
Fournier is a top Sancerre estate, but their
secret buy is this basic Loire Sauvignon
Blanc—it’s a killer deal, full of zesty goose-
berry and light herbal flavors.
2017 DOMAINE PELLÉ MENETOU-SALON
MOROGUES ($26)
A light honeyed scent and lots of lime-citrus
freshness are the hallmarks of this Sau-
vignon from a fourth-generation estate in
Menetou-Salon, just west of Sancerre.
In France’s Rhône
Valley, Burgundy
star Mounir
Saouma, whose
Lucien Le Moine
Burgundies sell out
instantly, is now
crafting extraor-
dinary wines like
the peppercorn-
and-cherry 2016
Rotem & Mounir
Saouma Inopia
Côtes-du-Rhône
Villages Rouge
($35) and the
intense, wild-
raspberry 2015
Rotem & Mounir
Saouma Omnia
Châteauneuf-
du-Pape ($111).
In Bordeaux, the
winemaking team
from first-growth
Château Haut-
Brion has crafted
a knockout value
with the 2015
Le Dragon de
Quintus ($38), the
second wine from
Domaine Clarence
Dillon’s new Saint-
Émilion property,
Château Quintus.
Across the Atlantic,
winemaker Dave
Phinney—the man
who created The
Prisoner—released
the first nationally
distributed vintage
of his potent new
Zinfandel-based
wine, the 2017
8 Years in the
Desert ($50), last
August. (He’d
been barred from
making new Zin-
based wines by
a noncompete
when he sold The
Prisoner.) Hunt it
down, or look for
the next vintage
t h i s s u mme r.
New Wines
from Star
Winemakers
STUNNING
SANCERRE
ALTERNATIVES
THANKS TO SANCERRE’S UNSTOPPABLE POPULARITY, the prices for this Loire white keep rising, par-
ticularly for top producers. (As one wine importer told me, “Basically, finding Sancerre under $20
that doesn’t taste like swamp water is becoming harder and harder.”) Since I’m all for avoiding
swamp water in my glass, it’s great that Sancerre isn’t the only Loire Valley region specializing in
Sauvignon Blanc. Savvy wine shoppers should look for value in lesser-known AOCs like Menetou-
Salon, Coteaux du Giennois, Reuilly, Touraine, and Quincy. These four wines are a great start.
2019
SPRING
WINE
GUIDE
photography by VICTOR PROTASIO
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