Fournier Père et Fils Sauvignon Blanc Val de Loire 2021

Fournier’s 2021 Sauvignon Blanc Val de Loire is another great success and the best bargain in French Sauvignon Blanc on the market today. It rivals many expensive Sancerres from well-known estates. The 2021 Fournier Sauvignon Blanc Val de Loire offers up a heady aroma of gooseberry, mineral, melon, and herb. It delights the palate with a combination of mouth-watering Sauvignon Blanc fruit, laser-like precision, and pinpoint minerality, assuring a crisp, vivacious finish. The 2021 Fournier Sauvignon Blanc Val de Loire imparts a freshness and purity rarely seen at this level and plenty of palate pleasing pleasure. Accessible and gratifying all at the same time, it’s hard to imagine a more classic Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc than Fournier’s 2021 Sauvignon Blanc Val de Loire. For optimal enjoyment, we suggest serving this satisfying Sauvignon Blanc chilled (40° F). Anticipated maturity: 2023-2025. Santé!

The 2021 Fournier Sauvignon Blanc Val de Loire is at home on any table. The delicious Sauvignon Blancs of the Loire Valley, which certainly include the 2021 Fournier Sauvignon Blanc Val de Loire, have been for decades the rage in Paris bistros and upscale American seafood restaurants, too. And with good reason… the age old adage “Sauvignon Blanc was made for seafood” certainly applies to this wine. The 2021 Fournier Sauvignon Blanc Val de Loire provides the ideal companion to oysters, fried or on the half shell, a bowl brimming with fresh mussels steamed in a heady broth, pan-roasted sea scallops nestled on a bed of saffron rice, or just about any fish or creature that once swam in the sea. Smoked salmon, served with capers, red onion, and cream cheese provides another splendid accoutrement. Yet, the 2021 Fournier Sauvignon Blanc Val de Loire is more than a one trick pony. Sweetbreads, rillettes, country pâtés, hearty chicken nachos, and salads also provide tasty accompaniments. Nonetheless, many will enjoy the 2021 Fournier Sauvignon Blanc Val de Loire as an aperitif with, perhaps, a fine goat or cow’s milk cheese. For optimal enjoyment, we suggest serving a glass of this wine with Sancerre’s regional cheese: Crottin de Chavignol, as the combo is not to be missed. Crottin de Chavignol is generally acknowledged to be the Loire Valley’s finest goat cheese and it was awarded its own appellation status in 1976. It ranks among the finest cheeses of France and it pairs beautifully with Fournier’s once again incomparable 2021 Sauvignon Blanc Val de Loire. Bon Appétit!

« Le vin réjouit le coeur de l’homme. » (“Wine makes glad the heart of man.”)

The Fournier family are longtime growers and producers of Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé, Menetou-Salon, and Sauvignon Blanc from select vineyards in France’s Loire Valley. Like many of the best growers in Sancerre and its environs, the Fourniers have expanded their holdings over the past half century to include vineyard parcels from growers with the most outstanding terroir. From these parcels they craft several exceptional wines, including this month’s feature, the 2021 Fournier Sauvignon Blanc Val de Loire.

In addition to producing a wonderfully crisp, highly acclaimed Sauvignon Blanc Val de Loire, Fournier Père et Fils also fashions a number of Sancerre wines that are consistently deemed by critics to be among Sancerre’s finest cuvées. The domain’s Les Belles Vignes, Grande Cuvée, and Cuvée Silex sit atop the pinnacle of quality for wines from France’s iconic Sancerre appellation.

Begun in 1950 with just over 10 acres in Sancerre, the Fournier Père et Fils estate has grown to nearly 222 acres in various appellations and locales throughout the Loire Valley. In each appellation and with each wine, the emphasis is always on quality and producing France’s finest Sauvignon Blanc. Although Sauvignon Blanc remains the Fournier family’s passion and claim to fame, the estate also fashions a light, aromatic red Pinot Noir that rivals the village wines of Burgundy.

The Loire is France’s longest and most picturesque river, and the valley that bears its name is known affectionately as le jardin de France (the garden of France). From the Loire’s lush gardens, pastures, and vineyards flow a treasure trove of fruits, vegetables, and wines to grace elegant tables throughout France, including those in the most fashionable temples of gastronomy in Paris.

Given the Loire’s length, varied terroir, and multitude of microclimates, it is not surprising that this vast region produces a wide array of wines. From the chalky hills on the upper reaches of the river as it bends in sight of Burgundy come several of the world’s finest dry white wines in the guise of Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé, Menetou-Salon and Quincy – all from Sauvignon Blanc. As the river flows west towards the heart of France, Chenin Blanc and soft sparkling wines predominate, followed by the superlative sweet wines of Touraine and Anjou that emerge from green hills in sight of stately châteaux. And by the time the slow moving Loire reaches the sea near Nantes, it becomes the home of Muscadet, a quaffable, fresh, bone dry white wine that is superlative with seafood.

Nearly all of the Loire’s greatest wines are white, but one should not miss the growing number of excellent red wines now being made in “the garden of France.” Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir are the most important red varietals in the Loire, at least in terms of quality, but some very good Gamay-based wines can be found as well. It is Sancerre and its environs where Pinot Noir thrives, while Anjou, Bourgeuil, and Chinon are typically the appellations along the Loire most notable for soft, velvety reds from Cabernet Franc.