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. MORE >>

As we sat down I took out the wine I brought along, the 2008 Pierre Gonon St Joseph Blanc Les Oliviers , $32, Fruit of the Vines Imports. This is a phenomenal wine, and one of the interesting things about it is that honestly, served blind, there would be no way to peg it as Sauvignon Blanc. Thai food for the western palate. MORE >>

If you know in advance that you will be opening a bottle of wine a few days from now, I suggest standing it up vertically in the cellar to let the sediment fall to the bottom of the bottle. It really depends on the wine: Auslesen and old sweet Chenin Blanc can appear really dark and be perfectly fine, for instance. I'm patient. MORE >>

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. MORE >>

We blind-tasted the wines and individually picked our two favorites for current drinking, along with a wine that we would want for the cellar. it was interesting to note that some of us were reminded of Chenin Blanc when drinking these wines, in that they took on a woolly note as they aired out. Our first theme is Cour-Cheverny. MORE >>