Clos Rougeard's rare (and pricey) Chenin Blanc is one of the most intriguing white wines of the Loire Valley. Well made Bandol rosé definitely improves with age. This Pradeaux rose is only a year old, but already offers a glimpse of what time in the cellar will do. Whoa, this is just amazing wine. More, please. Briny.

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's not just an aesthetic issue—the sediment can be bitter, and its presence definitely changes the flavors of the wine. generally don't. Steak.

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.

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.

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.

Cousin cultivates Gamay, Grolleau, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, and Chenin Blanc - there is something for everyone in this portfolio. They can be funky and a bit rustic, but they evolve beautifully in the glass and in the cellar, and offer a clean and pure expression of the terroir that is Layon.

began in a French table area and tried some Sancerres (made from Sauvignon Blanc), some white Burgundys (made from Chardonnay) and some white blends. wine I will definitely keep an eye out for in the future. An under appreciated grape here in the Western world is Chenin Blanc. don't know. great wine. Onto the reds.

And if you're into cellaring wine, these will improve for at least a decade, probably longer. This wine is like a prizefighter in training - no sweet or fatty foods, lots of sleep, and definitely no sex, but this is just training. I'm guessing that people will eventually look to this as a benchmark for 2005 Loire Valley 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?

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. definitely got it. How would these wines hold up?

love French wine, but the good doctor ruled out what he called "the big six grapes" from France, namely Riesling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Pinot Noir. Chenin Blanc is, in my opinion, the superstar white grape of the Loire Valley. But it's the Chenin Blanc wines that are so shattering to me.

absolutely am a Rudolph Steiner fan, and I definitely think of soil and its components as a vital living being that can experience varying degrees of health. Montlouis, like Vouvray, is a 100% Chenin Blanc appellation, producing mineral driven wines in dry, demi-sec or off dry, and vintage permitting, moelleux, or sweet wines.

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. Definitely off-dry, with clean and acidic stone fruit, and rich figs, wrapped in light honey. Did you notice that? Mais bien sur!