Clos Rougeard's rare (and pricey) Chenin Blanc is one of the most intriguing white wines of the Loire Valley. This Pradeaux rose is only a year old, but already offers a glimpse of what time in the cellar will do. drank the 2002 in Portland on the day that I met my good friend Peter Liem , back in August of 2008. Briny.

On my recent trip to the Loire, I got an excellent chance to explore this issue at the cellars of none other than Domaine Bernard Baudry in Chinon, one of my favorite producers in the Loire. The Domaine makes only wines from cabernet franc, with the exception of a white wine from chenin blanc at the Croix Boisée vineyard.

Imported by European Cellars. 2005 Damien Laureau Savennières Le Bel Ouvrage , $32, Jon-David Headrick Selections, Imported by European Cellars. loved how completely woolly the wine was, compared with the flowery fruit and crystalline shimmer of the Savennières - such wonderfully different expressions of Chenin Blanc.

John Gilman, author of the newsletter The View from the Cellar , joins us again for a Q&A. But being younger than the gentleman I just mentioned, I do not have the same reserves of old vintages of white Burgundy or white Bordeaux in my cellar, and so premox has really hit my collection hard. Are these wines forcibly better?

Savennières wines are world-class whites from Chenin Blanc, wines with enormous cellaring potential, but they are wines that can be austere in their youth, like a barren moonscape - nothing but rocks and sand. Both the 2002 and the 2004 Bel Ouvrage seem like they will develop beautifully with cellar time.

want to give her great wines, wines that will improve with 19 years of cellaring. Many people consider these to be the finest Chenin Blancs from the Loire Valley and in the world. In contrast to the 2005 or 2002, it is not an exuberant wine, even after 3 days open. And happily, I can afford to buy and drink them.

It's also an egalitarian system - the host who feels flush can select 2002 Vosne-Roman é e 1er Cru wines as the theme. Recently it was our turn to host wine group and I chose Loire Chenin Blancs as the theme. The exceptions for me were the Pinon wines - the Brut was fine but the 2002 Vouvray Tradition was just no good.

went for the Bubbles, the Beaujolais, the Cab Franc, and the Chenin Blanc. In honor of their 20th anniversary, the Dressner folk dug into the cellar and set out a load of wines from their inaugural vintage. The Blanc de Blancs was opened as I was standing there and needed time to come together. Next was Beaujolais.

have a lot of the young stuff in the cellar - shouldn't I know more about what happens to this wine in 20 years? We thoroughly enjoyed this wine, but I might have guessed it to be a 2002 if tasted blind. And I have a couple of the 2002's in the cellar, but it would seem prudent to grab a few more of those too, you know, for research.

began in a French table area and tried some Sancerres (made from Sauvignon Blanc), some white Burgundys (made from Chardonnay) and some white blends. An under appreciated grape here in the Western world is Chenin Blanc. Domaine Francois Pinon from the Loire Valley makes some demi-sec (semi sweet) wines from Chenin blanc.

The white is called Breze and is 100% Chenin Blanc. have never tasted this wine - it retails at over $70 and I just haven't gone there yet on a Chenin. If I were ever to spend that kind of dough on a Chenin, it would be either this wine or a Joly Coul é e de Serrant. This retails for approximately $35. Bordeaux?

2002 Sylvan Cathiard Vosne Romanee , $25 (secondary market). to lay down in the cellar for a while. White grape is still the eloquent and majestic Chenin Blanc, appellations are called Coteaux de Loir and Jasnieres. Its been a really good wine drinking month. 2001 Domaine Rollin Pernand-Vergelesses , $30 (375ml).

Sancerre, the darling of wine bars everywhere a few years ago, is made from Sauvignon Blanc. Many producers say that demi-sec (off dry) is the best expression of Chenin Blanc. 2002 Olga Raffault Chinon Les Picasses , $17. 2002 Catherine et Pierre Breton Bourgueil Les Perrieres , $26. That's pretty intense. Enjoy

Savennieres is one of the great Loire Valley appellations, producing amazing white wines made from the chenin blanc grape. Many wines made in Savennieres can improve for decades with cellaring. The wines are usually dry with pronounced minerality, and when well made, offer beautiful stone fruit and honey flavors. Mais bien sur!