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. This is a wine of class and grace. 2007 Domaine Hu e t Vouvray Sec Clos du Bourg , $28, Robert Chadderdon Selections. We loved this wine.

We’re back with Part Deux of our interview with John Gilman, author of the newsletter A View from the Cellar ( part one is here ). How do you make a screwcap-sealed wine taste and smell like rotting cabbage or burning rubber- put it in the cellar for a few years. German Riesling. And I really don’t understand why. The Loire.

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. And as far as I know, 1988 wasn't a particularly great vintage - just a normal working class year in the Loire Valley.

Lenn can tell you about the producers who make wine that truly reflects climate and terroir, he can tell you about experiments planting Chenin Blanc and other grapes new to the region, and he can tell you how Long Island wines improve each year as wine makers hone their craft. The back roads of Pernand-Vergelesses? definitely got it.

Sancerre, the darling of wine bars everywhere a few years ago, is made from Sauvignon Blanc. Not as big as Vouvray, but probably more consistent, with several world class producers. Many producers say that demi-sec (off dry) is the best expression of Chenin Blanc. That's pretty intense. Classic pairing with goat cheese.

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!