The 2010 Salon des Vins de Loire Top Ten

Domaine de la Pépière Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Granite de Clisson 2007
I tasted a few Muscadets from the 2009 vintage, from the likes of Guy Bossard, Jo Landron and Marc Ollivier, and found few wines that impressed. The Bossard wines seemed flatter and less vibrant than expected, and only at the very top end did Ollivier's possess the quality and zip we desire. Perhaps the best wine was this one, from the 2007 vintage instead. I met one Muscadet producer - he shall remain nameless - during my time at the Salon who clearly looked down at Ollivier's wines. "He makes wine for Americans" he intoned. Well, line me up with the Les Américains, Monsieur, this is a great domaine.

Domaine de Villeneuve Saumur-Champigny Grand Clos 2006
There were some brilliant wines from this domaine which I first discovered in 1993, and then rediscovered a few years ago. This wine has finesse and power combined, and is one of the few wines made around Saumur which, like those of Cheval-Blanc in Bordeaux, take Cabernet Franc to the limit. A fabulous wine which I just have to add to the cellar.

Antoine Sanzay Saumur-Champigny Le Poyeux 2008
After discovering Antoine and his wines last year I was not going to miss his wines in 2010. Again, that fine textural quality was there, that elegance, that silky purity. These have to be the most Foucault-like wines made outside Clos Rougeard. They aren't imported into the UK, which seems crazy. If you can find them near you, wherever you are, grab them while you can.

Domaine de Juchepie Coteaux du Layon-Faye Cuvée Quintessence 2002
A great domaine which I am not very familiar with, I met proprietors, the charming Belgian Eddy Oosterlinck and his wife Mileine (above), at the annual Renaissance tasting. A biodynamic estate, Eddy has well-formed opinions on what makes a sweet wine a 'noble' wine. Although quality was high across the board, this was the richest and most ethereal of all his offerings.

François Chidaine Montlouis Clos Habert 2008
I made an extensive tasting of Chidaine's range, looking at the 2008 and 2007 vintages; there were many superb, vivacious wines with precise, vibrant, buzzing acidity, and I could have chosen any one of them. But there was something very special about his demi-sec cuvées from 2008, wines sculpted from the same stone as Huet's 2008 demi-secs which I tasted several times last year. Excellent wines.

Vincent Carême Vouvray L'Ancestrale 2008
What brings a smile to your face more than the discovery of a new wine, or a new producer? Vincent Carême has a small Vouvray domaine and although he has a fine, classically-styled cuvée in the shape of Le Clos, I was smitten with this particular wine, which had a delicious lift and vivaciousness. Vincent and Tania, his South African-born wife, are pictured below.

I know that when it comes to any style of wine, we should allow ourselves to be swayed by balance, texture and finesse and not, as surely some people are, merely by sweetness or power. Nevertheless, I could not help but swoon as I tasted the following three cuvées, all benchmark examples of sweet Chenin Blanc in the Touraine style.

Huet Vouvray Le Mont Première Trie 2009
It's hardly a shock that any run-down of top Loire wines might just include something from Huet. Indeed, I've already highlighted the newly released 2005 Pétillant cuvée. When it comes to the pinnacle of achievement though, despite the creation of a Cuvée Constance in 2009, I plumped for this more accessible and affordable wine. A superb piece of vinous art that demands to be added to the cellar.

Domaine des Aubuisières Vouvray Cuvée Alexandre 2009
It's a long time since I have tasted anything from Bernard Fouquet, so it was a delight to work my way through his latest offerings, from his dry Cuvée de Silex (now offered under Stelvin screwcap) right up to his flagship sweet wine, the Cuvée Alexandre, which in 2009 is an excellent offering.

Domaine de la Taille aux Loups Montlouis Romulus 2009
Finally in this Touraine trio, another superb offering from perhaps one of the region's most under-appreciated and un-hyped domaines, that of Jacky Blot and Domaine de la Taille aux Loups. Lovely wines here, in 2008 and 2009 vintages, but this one was just that little bit more special.

François Crochet Sancerre Exils 2009
It is hard to put into words the moments when you undergo a vinous revelation, whether it be the discovery of a new wine, or the re-discovery of an old friend, perhaps in a new and improved vintage. Here I have rediscovered Sauvignon Blanc; not the grassy and gooseberryish green so easily found elsewhere, but a wine that speaks of terroir, interpreted through texture and vibrancy, nuanced with very subtle citrus and tropical fruit detailing. All of the white wines made here were just as impressive but I settled on this cuvée, from a silex (flint) terroir, as my favourite..

Pascal & Nicolas Reverdy Sancerre Les Anges Lots 2009
Right next-door, Pascal Reverdy was pouring his wines; well structured and deeper reds, and richly flavoured whites. He grinned with glee when he told me this barely-fermented wine was carrying 15% alcohol, his pleasure prompted by my failure to sense this on the palate; rather as I failed to sense the whopping 15.5% in the 2007 Pavillon Blanc de Margaux when tasted at the primeurs in 2008. Sometimes, a wine can carry it off, simple as that. And this would appear to be, on this tasting, one of those wines!