Château du Hureau
Nearly midway between Angers and Tours, along the middle part of the Loire’s languid length lies its clutch of red wine appellations, and it is the village of Dampierre-sur-Loire, near Saumur, that Château de Hureau has carved its reputation.
Domaine de la Taille aux Loups
Owner Jacky Blot is one of those charming iconoclasts of wine whose passion oozes out of more pores than he possesses. Almost everything he says makes seductive sense even if you don’t actually quite understand it, and one could easily lose days of fascinating conversation and thesis in his company.
Domaine Philippe Delesvaux
Philippe, and his wife Catherine Delesvaux, of the eponymous domaine, make exquisite sweet wine of the highest order in the Loire’s Coteaux du Layon.
Muscadet Crus Communaux
The Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine appellation experienced little short of a seismic shift in July with the approval of three Muscadet crus communaux, or communal crus, by INAO. It’s Muscadet, Jim, but not as we know it.