Wines

Long time best friends Jean-Baptiste Bonnigal and Stéphane Bodet first cut their teeth in the industry in Saint-Émilion. After getting their diplomas, Stéphane stayed in Saint-Émilion, while Jean-Baptiste headed to New Zealand and Australia. 

JB eventually returned to his native Loire and spent several years working with François Chidaine in Montlouis-sur-Loire. He remains closely tied to the Chidaine family as he is married to François' daughter. In 2016, he took over his family estate in Amboise and invited Stéphane to join him in the project.

From the get-go, the two friends were aligned in their vision in making wines with purity and precision as well as their commitment to farming organically and biodynamically. Their farming practices including hoeing every two weeks to aerate the soil and encourage microbial life, treating the vines only as required, thinning leaves, and harvesting manually. Fermentations are always with native yeasts and with their sparkling wines, tirage is done at the domaine.

20-50 year old vines. Clay with flint, clay on limestone soils.
Vinification & Aging: Native yeast fermentation in stainless steel, aged on the fine lees for 6 months. No malolactic fermentation.

90 Points! Classic nose for this sauvignon blanc, with plenty of guavas, grapefruit, papayas and fresh herbs. Medium-bodied with fresh acidity. It is succulent, crisp and refreshing with a mouthwatering finish. Drink now. - JamesSuckling.com

91 Points! Stone fruits and orchard fruits intermixed with sappy herbs emerge from the 2023 Sauvignon Blanc A.V.A Blend. Medium-bodied, bright, and racy on the palate, with elegant acidity and a clean finish, this 100% Sauvignon Blanc is ideal for drinking over the next 2-3 years. - Jeb Dunnuck

Bernard Clement was one of the founders of the Menetou-Salon appellation in 1959. His daughter, Laurence de la Farge, and her husband, Geraud, continued a legacy in winemaking, and in 2003, the family established Domaine de l’Ermitage. Today, their children, Antoine and Sophie, continue to run the estate.

Kimmeridgian limestone vineyards covering 6.5 hectares. Bunching, systematic and repeated tillage under and between rows, trimming, harvest in green, and partial leafing. Harvest done by hand. Slight maceration before cold fermentation. Winemaking under temperature control. Ageing in stainless steel vats on fine lees, and final assembly of all the harvest.

A long time Kermit Lynch winery that has alwasy brght the goods. 100% Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc from clay and Kimmeridgian limestone soils.

Les Déserts is steep, sun-drecnhed vineyard overlooking Bué that borders Chavignol. This cuvée is a selection of about one third of the one-hectare holding— vines were planted in the 1990s on clay-limestone, "Terres Blanches" from the Kimmeridgian geological stage, rich in fossilized seashells. Manual harvest with strict sorting of clusters or parts of clusters altered or insufficiently ripe, 20% is vinified in medium-aged oak barrels of a wine, 80% is vinified in vats at a low temperature, indigenous yeasts and the lees are suspended regularly to feed the wine until spring. Bottling takes place in late-spring after a light filtration.

91 Points! Farella's unoaked 2023 Sauvignon Blanc stands out for its assertive boxwood, lime and grapefruit aromas. It's medium-bodied and somewhat plump and rounded but also shot through with a bright beam of citrusy acids, vibrant and refreshing. - Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com

From the winery: 98% Sauvignon Blanc, 1% Albarino and 1% Muscat Canelli - 88% stainless steel fermented with the remainder barrel fermented in neutral French oak and Acacia barrels. Largely from the Stewart Ranch with its toes in the estuary south of the city of Napa. It is a late developing site and its tropical flavors, crisp acidity and cool climate chemistry add zip to the lovely riper Windy Flats Clone 1 grapefruit character. After ferment, the wine was racked to neutral oak, acacia, and stainless-steel barrels to rest until bottling in January after a brief fining and settling.

92 Points! The Klein Constantia 2023 Constantia Sauvignon Blanc is extremely linear and sharp with a mineral quality the persists throughout. Winemaker Matthew Day says it took him a long while to understand what the soils mean to this wine. He works with ancient decomposed granite and reddish sandstone from Table Mountain and along the riverbeds. With 42 blocks to choose fruit from, the blending possibilities are enormous. He can pinpoint the best blocks each year. He starts blending after the wine has seen six months in tank, but he wants to extend that to nine months. A salty marine theme is dominant, but the wine also offers white fruits and light floral nuances. A tiny part of declassified wine from oak may work its way into this blend, but you would never know. If you enjoy Sauvignon Blanc, as I do, I enthusiastically direct your attention here. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

Les Deux Tours is produced by Baron Patrick de Ladoucette in the Loire Valley on soils that are mainly limestone with some parcels of flint clay. Patrick is sometimes referred to as "The King of the Loire Valley" for his contribution to the worldwide recognition and acclaim of this appellation. Les Deux Tours wines originate from a terroir that is known as the “Valley of the Kings,” which is located along the Loire River, the longest waterway in France.

From the importer: This cuvée is a blend of wine from several sites scattered on the hilltop of Les Loges, specifically “La Côte”, and “Les Griottes”. These are some of the middle-aged vines of the estate averaging 35 years of age. Combined, this is a two hectare site on clay-limestone soil.