I don’t suppose that it’s an uncommon experience, but I definitely came back from my recent press trip to the Loire knowing that I’m not drinking enough Chenin Blanc. Before leaving, I counted myself a fan of the variety, often ordering it off of wine lists at restaurants, but I don’t own that many bottles from the Loire, and I haven’t been in the habit of buying them regularly. But that’s going to change.

Vouvray and Savennières are two of the Loire’s appellations dedicated only to Chenin Blanc. While a number of Loire Valley appellations feature both red and white wines from different grape varieties, Vouvray and Savennières make only white wines, and only from Chenin. While Savennières is best known for (and is dominated by) its dry wines, both regions produce dry, semi-sweet, and sweet wines, while Vouvray also makes sparkling wines.

They share the same grape variety, but these two regions on the northern bank of the Loire River produce dry white wines of a distinctly different character, in part due to their very different geologies.

It’s always tricky to generalize, but I would say that the wines of Vouvray come across as slightly richer, with a little more weight and heft in the glass, while Savennières has a stonier, lighter quality. Whereas I tend to taste pear, quince, and lemon in Vouvray wines, I tend to get more grapefruit notes and less quince in Savennières.

The trip I attended in late April for the Val de Loire Millésime event afforded me the opportunity to taste a number of wines from each appellation side-by-side. Also, because I arrived a little early for the junket, I got the chance to spend a day wandering around Savennières and make a couple of producer visits, which I’ll end up writing about in due course.

In the meantime, I thought I’d share my notes on some of the better wines I tasted from each region as part of my official visit, and a little bit about these two unique centers of Chenin Blanc production.

Vouvray

The long, long, Loire Valley is typically divided into four primary regions, the largest and most central of which is Touraine, which is centered around the city of Tours. Nestled just to the east and north of Tours is the appellation of Vouvray (marked in orange above).

Vouvray (and indeed, much of the surrounding region) is characterized by its sedimentary soils that the French refer to as tuffeau, or chalky limestone. Formed 90 million years ago when the region was a large shallow sea, the sandy, fine-grained limestone of what is known as the Paris Basin is slightly different than the true chalk found in Champagne or England, but has many of the same properties when it comes to water retention and overall chemistry.

Vouvray sits right at the farthest edge of what might be considered any real marine influence sweeping up the Loire Valley, and tends to therefore have more of a continental climate, with warm summers, colder winters, and sometimes rather inconvenient storms. The variability in the climate tends to result in significant vintage variation among the wines. When the weather is fine, the region’s wines sing, from the complex dry and sparkling wines to the botrytis-richened sweet wines.

The region probably hosted vines in Roman times but has definitely been growing wine more or less continually since the Middle Ages. According to Interloire, the trade association representing the breadth of the Loire Valley, there are approximately 160 different producers of Vouvray, farming around 5000 acres of vines.

Most producers make their dry whites according to a similar protocol: pressing whole clusters of grapes (picked earlier before the grapes shrivel or botrytis sets in) into steel tanks to ferment, usually with ambient yeasts, and then often aging those wines in older oak barrels. Some producers choose to block malolactic conversion, but most let it happen naturally.

Tasting Notes

2020 Careme Vincent “Clos de la Roche” Vouvray Sec, Touraine, Loire Valley, France
Pale greenish-gold in color, this wine smells of wet stones, white flowers, and lemon pith. In the mouth, saline flavors of lemon pith, white flowers, and Asian pear have a deep stony depth, and a wonderful lemon pith and lemon oil finish. Long and juicy and delicious. Certified organic. Score: around 9.5. Cost: €27.

2020 Jean-Marc Gilet Domaine De La Rouletière “Les Perruches” Vouvray Sec, Touraine, Loire Valley, France
Light greenish-gold in color, this wine smells of white flowers, lemon pith, and pear skin. In the mouth, lemon pith, white flowers, a touch of quince, and deep stony minerality are bright with deliciously juicy acidity and a faint salinity. Very tasty. Certified organic. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $18. click to buy.

2018 Domaine Du Petit Trésor “Belle au naturel” Vouvray Sec, Touraine, Loire Valley, France
Pale greenish-gold in color, this wine smells of lemon oil, white flowers, and pears. In the mouth, wonderfully saline flavors of lemon pith, lemon oil, quince, and white flowers have a faint tannic grip and a deeply crystalline stony minerality. There’s a long pear-skin finish with a bit of a grip to it. Sadly bottled in a much heavier bottle than it needs to be. Certified organic. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: €12.

2019 Domaine Champalou “Le Portail” Vouvray Sec, Touraine, Loire Valley, France
Light yellow gold in the glass, this wine smells of struck match and lemon oil. In the mouth, lemon oil and Asian pear have a nice bright grip to them, welded to a deeply stony wet chalkboard minerality. Just a hint of salinity lingers in the finish. Certified organic. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $42. click to buy.

2020 Vignoble Alain Robert “Les Charmes” Vouvray Sec, Touraine, Loire Valley, France
Palest greenish gold in the glass, this wine smells of wet stones, lemon oil, and a hint of white flowers. In the mouth, lemon oil and Asian pear mix with a hint of quince and grapefruit with fabulously bright acidity and deep stony quality. Light tannic grip, long citrusy finish. Excellent. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: €7.5.

2020 Domaine Huet “Le Haut-Lieu” Vouvray Demi-Sec, Touraine, Loire Valley, France
Pale greenish-gold in color, this wine smells of lemon and quince. In the mouth, faintly sweet flavors of lemon and quince mix with white flowers and wet stones. Certified organic and Demeter biodynamic. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $40. click to buy.

2020 Vigneau Christophe Et Stéphane “Silex” Vouvray Sec, Touraine, Loire Valley, France
Light greenish-gold in color, this wine smells of lemon zest and a touch of white flowers. In the mouth, lightly sweet flavors of lemon, grapefruit, quince, and wet stones have a nice long finish with just a touch of heat. Certified organic. Score: around 9. Cost: €12.

2019 Earl Damien Pinon “Le Clos Tenau” Vouvray Sec, Touraine, Loire Valley, France
A light greenish-gold in the glass, this wine smells of quince and lemon curd. In the mouth, flavors of quince paste, lemon curd, and a touch of vanilla are rich but with excellent acidity and a nice stony minerality to match, making for a silky, weighty, but still-freshly-bright package. In organic conversion. Score: around 9. Cost: €13.

2020 Domaine De La Robinière “Bel Air” Vouvray Sec, Touraine, Loire Valley, France
Light greenish-gold in color, this wine smells of honey and candied lemon rind. In the mouth, bright lemon and pear flavors have a lovely tannic grip and deep stoniness to them. Citrus pith lingers in the finish with a hint of salinity. Score: around 9. Cost: $18. click to buy.

2020 Breussin Denis Vouvray Sec, Touraine, Loire Valley, France
Pale greenish gold in the glass, this wine smells of oak and vanilla, wet wood, and lemon peel. In the mouth, lemon peel and ripe quince flavors are welded to a deeply stony quality with a light tannic grip and excellent acidity. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $19. click to buy.

2017 Domaine du Viking Vouvray Sec, Touraine, Loire Valley, France
Light yellow-gold in the glass, this wine smells of lemon pith and pear. In the mouth, deeply stony lemon and grapefruit flavors are tinged with quince and the strongly tannic grip of pear skin. Stony and bright. Needs some time to open up. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: €12.5.

2020 Brisebarre Philippe “Vignoble Brisebarre” Vouvray Sec, Touraine, Loire Valley, France
Palest greenish-gold in color, this wine smells of lemon, vanilla, and a hint of pear. In the mouth, lemon, grapefruit and a pear-quince flavor also has a hint of buttery pastry. Good acidity and stoniness. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $20. click to buy.

Savennières

Roughly 80 miles to the west of Vouvray, and just west of the city of Angers, lies the tiny village of Savennièrs (pronounced sahve-en-yayr). Home to only a few dozen producers, Savennières spans only about 740 acres in total, with roughly only half of that planted to vines.

Its geology couldn’t be more different than that of Vouvray. Savennières is known for its soils of shiny mica-schist, a metamorphic rock that is part of the Amorican Massif, a large area of uplifted stone that resulted from upwellings of magma from the earth’s crust. As this magma swelled upwards somewhere between 400 and 600 million years ago, it heated the rock above it, turning the sandy ocean-bottom sediments into schists.

Since its uplift, the massif has been eroded down so that the landscape doesn’t look much different than that of Vouvray, but the underlying soils are quite separate, and undoubtedly have some influence the character of the region’s wines.

Most Savennières winemakers follow a similar winemaking protocol to their colleagues in Vouvray, with some younger winemakers experimenting with aging only in steel or in concrete eggs.

Tasting Notes

2020 Domaine Thibaud Boudignon “La Vigne Cendree” Savennières, Anjou-Saumur, Loire Valley, France
Palest greenish gold in the glass, this wine smells of lemon and grapefruit and a hint of resinous butterscotch. In the mouth, intensely bright lemon and grapefruit flavors mix with a hint of pear and deep stony minerality. Score: around 9.5. Cost: $92. click to buy.

2019 Patrick Baudouin “Bellevue” Savennières, Anjou-Saumur, Loire Valley, France
Pale yellow gold in the glass, this wine smells of citrus peel, nut skin, and a hint of flintiness, and a touch of quince. In the mouth, fantastic saline flavors of citrus oil, grapefruit, and wet stones have a gorgeous brightness and citrusy snap thanks to excellent acidity. That resinous struck flint note lingers for a long time in the finish Outstanding. Certified organic. Score: around 9.5. Cost: €35.

2019 Domaine Belargus “Gaudrets” Savennières, Anjou-Saumur, Loire Valley, France
Light greenish gold in the glass, this wine smells of struck flint and lemon oil. In the mouth, saline flavors of struck flint, smoky, grapefruit, pear, and long stony finish. Fantastic acidity, salty deliciousness. Deeply crystalline. In organic conversion. Score: around 9.5. Cost: $65. click to buy.

2019 Domaine Du Closel “Clos Du Papillon” Savennières, Anjou-Saumur, Loire Valley, France
Pale greenish-gold in color, this wine smells of grapefruit oil and a hint of vanilla. In the mouth, bright pear and citrus oil flavors are juicy and delicious and very stony, with a light tannic grip and long mineral finish. Certified organic. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $55. click to buy.

2019 Fournier-Longchamp Domaine FL “Chamboureau” Savennières, Anjou-Saumur, Loire Valley, France
Pale greenish gold in the glass, this wine smells of nutty citrus and a hint of pear. In the mouth, bright lemon and grapefruit flavors mix with a touch of nougat and deep stony minerality. Fantastic acidity and freshness. With a light tannic grip. Certified organic. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $33. click to buy.

2018 Terra Vita Vinum “Bigottière” Savennières, Anjou-Saumur, Loire Valley, France
Pale yellow gold with a hint of green, this wine smells of wet stones, citrus pith, and white flowers. In the mouth, deeply stony notes of wet chalkboard mix with citrus pith, white flowers, and very delicate aromas of pear flesh. Lovely filigreed acidity and deep mineral purity. Certified organic. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $48. click to buy.

2020 Château De Plaisance Savennières, Anjou-Saumur, Loire Valley, France
Pale greenish gold in the glass, this wine smells of citrus pith, grapefruit, and a flinty smoky quality. In the mouth, bright citrus pith, grapefruit, Asian pear, and light daikon flavors have a clean stoniness that is quite deep. There’s a light chalky tannic quality to the wine, with a pomelo pith finish. Demeter biodynamic certified. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $55. click to buy.

2019 Raymond Morin “Chateau De Varennes” Savennières, Anjou-Saumur, Loire Valley, France
Pale greenish gold in the glass, this wine smells of white flowers with a hint of struck flint. In the mouth, wonderfully bright flavors of citrus oil, grapefruit, pear, and pear skin have a nice flintiness and tannic grip. Deeply stony and bright. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: €15.

2019 Château du Breuil Savennières, Anjou-Saumur, Loire Valley, France
Pale greenish gold in the glass, this wine smells of grapefruit pith and pear. In the mouth, grapefruit, pear, and lemon oil flavors are juicy and bright with deep stony qualities, wet chalkboard minerality and texture, and a long citrus oil finish. Delicious. Certified organic. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $35. click to buy.

2018 Domaine Des Baumard “Clos Du Papillon” Savennières, Anjou-Saumur, Loire Valley, France
Light greenish gold in the glass, this wine smells of citrus oil and grapefruit pith. In the mouth, bright tangy pear and pear skin flavors mix with citrus oil and a hint of quince paste and nuttiness. In organic conversion. Score: around 9. Cost: $40. click to buy.

2020 Domaine Taillandier Savennières, Anjou-Saumur, Loire Valley, France
Pale yellow-gold with a hint of green, this wine smells of vanilla and candied grapefruit with a hint of Asian pear. In the mouth, Asian pear and lemon oil mix with a hint of dried honey and notes of dried citrus peel lingering in the finish. Score: around 9. Cost: €21.

2020 Domaine Du Petit Metris “Clos De La Marche” Savennières, Anjou-Saumur, Loire Valley, France
Pale greenish-gold in color, this wine smells of grapefruit oil, grapefruit pith, a hint of flintiness, and a touch of apple. In the mouth, green apple, grapefruit, and Asian pear flavors mix with a touch of pear skin and a nice wet stone underbelly. Good acidity. Score: around 9. Cost: $30. click to buy.

2020 Domaine Des Forges “Clos Du Papillon” Savennières, Anjou-Saumur, Loire Valley, France
Pale greenish-gold in color, this wine smells of a touch of oak, pear, and citrus oil. In the mouth, citrus oil, vanilla, pear, and grapefruit mix with a nice stony underbelly. Light tannic grip. Long finish. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $20. click to buy.

2020 Domaine Ogereau “Clos Le Grand Beaupréau” Savennières, Anjou-Saumur, Loire Valley, France
Pale yellow gold in the glass, this wine smells of pear and citrus. In the mouth, citrus and pear and a touch of quince mix with a nice stony underbelly. Certified organic. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $40. click to buy.

2019 Chateau Soucherie “Clos Des Perrières” Savennières, Anjou-Saumur, Loire Valley, France
Palest greenish gold in the glass, this wine smells of lemon oil, Asian pear, and grapefruit. In the mouth, silky flavors of grapefruit and wet stone have a delicate filigreed acidity. The flavors are a bit soft and imprecise, but still pleasurable. In organic conversion. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $40. click to buy.