As always there were some amazing sweet wines from the Layon appellations, especially from Quarts de Chaume in the 2007 and 2009 vintages, and I could so easily have included five such wines here. As it is I have managed to keep it down to just three, squeezing in one dry white and one red.

Domaine Ogereau Cot. du Layon St Lambert Clos des Bonnes Blanches 2007
Tasting with Vincent Ogereau on the first day of the Salon I was really taken with his 2008 Anjou Blanc Sec, a really relaxed, fresh, elegantly poised wine. But in terms of pure deliciousness, his sweeter wines stole the show. His 2009 Harmonie des Bonnes Blanches, a label created by Vincent to take his Bonnes Blanches fruit in lesser vintages, picked up a Ligers d'Or, annual awards dished out at the Salon, but for me his 2007 Clos des Bonnes Blanches was the real deal.

Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume 2007
While I am on the subject of sweet wines from along the banks of the Layon, a little further downstream from Bonnes Blanches, which lies opposite the imposing Coteau des Treilles, is the vineyard of Quarts de Chaume. This Layon cru has a diverse terroir and an array of different aspects on its four principal slopes, and it yields some of the Loire Valley's greatest wines. There has been some criticism of Florent Baumard (below, left) recently, his methods of viticulture and the use of cryo-extraction, but you cannot deny the quality of what is in the glass. This is a fine example of the appellation, showing a thick, quartzy seam of minerality alongside the fruit and sweetness.

Damien Laureau Savennières Le Bel Ouvrage 2007
Now to Savennières, a focus of mine during this year's Salon. Damien Laureau is making Savennières in a more approachable style, with fermentation in barrique, followed by an élevage of one year in the same wood, with 100% malolactic fermentation. The wines are then assembled in cement cuves before bottling. I just loved the barrel sample of 2009 Roches aux Moines cuvée, which had great potential, but as that has yet to be bottled I have settled on this wine as an example of his work. Laureau is definitely a name to watch in this appellation.

Dom. aux Moines Savennières Roches aux Moines Cuvée de L'Abbesse 2007
Whereas Damien Laureau is one of the better producers of a more modern, more polished style of Savennières, those looking for the more upright austerity of old-school could do a lot worse than come to the Laroche family of Domaine aux Moines, where mother Monique and now daughter Tessa are turning out admirable but very reserved and structured examples of the appellation. But they also try their hand at sweet wines, producing the moelleux Cuvée des Nonnes and the sweeter Cuvée L'Abbesse. This wine has 88 g/l of residual sugar and has a beautiful, quartzy minerality to it. It is the closest quality to a top Quarts de Chaume that I have ever experienced from outside that appellation. Where can I get some?

Domaine de la Bergerie Anjou-Villages Evanescence 2009
I was looking forward to tasting the wines of Yves Guégniard (pictured above, right) this year, having met him at last year's Stars of the Layon tasting. His 2008 Savennières cuvées were fine and on a par with the 2007s previously tasted, but I am afraid I am going to cheat a little and allow a barrel sample in here, as his 2009 Evanescence seemed to be just brimming with potential. I was impressed with his 2007 last year, as it was a really attractive wine fashioned from a difficult vintage, but with more favourable conditions - as in 2009 - it is clear he has made something delightful.

Vincent Carême Vouvray Sec 2009
I visited Vincent and his wife Tania last summer, and thought the 2009 Sec was lovely. Enough to buy some, certainly. This year it seems to taste even better, showing a harmonious style but with more underlying structure to it than I first spotted. There is vigour and minerality in this wine, which was more convincing than wines from a number of 'bigger' names in the appellation.

Lise et Bertrand Jousset Montlouis Singulier 2009
A new name on Winedoctor, the Joussets are making some delightfully defined wines. They have Gamay, Grolleau and Chardonnay, but without a doubt the star attractions here are the Montlouis wines. The house style is dry with a bright and narrow seam of minerality and acid; Lise Jousset (below, right) has a taste for wines with low residual sugar - she prefers less than 3 g/l! There were a number of good wines here, but I've settled on this one, which is currently assembled in tank prior to bottling.

Le Rocher des Violettes Montlouis Touche-Mitaine 2009
Another dry Montlouis with a lovely structure to it, this wine - made by Xavier Weisskopf (above, left) - has a fine minerally backbone and a delightful grip and acid freshness. It's delicious. He also fashions a couple of very impressive Touraine reds, using Cabernet Franc and Cot; it's rare to find Touraine reds that provoke my interest, with Clos Roche Blanche being perhaps the best example of the appellation. Based on a taste of his embryonic 2010s, Xavier's wines might well be on the same level. He and his wife Clémence also have a very cute dog, so top marks all round!

Frantz Saumon Montlouis Mineral+ 2009
Frantz spent a long time as a forestier, in Quebec, before returning to his native France, settling just down the road from François Chidaine, to take up viticulture. I found his wines, tasted last year at the Renaissance event, to be very convincing. No change this year, and this cuvée, bottled last spring, was my favourite of his offerings on the day.

Bernard Baudry Chinon La Croix Boisée 2009
Here's a wine I tasted last year and just adored, and happily my impression this year - as the wine approaches the point of bottling - remains exactly the same. This is one that I am going to have to add to the cellar. Meanwhile, the big news here is that Bernard has now officially retired, and it is Matthieu that has 100% control over the domaine. From what I tasted here, not just from 2009 but also from the embryonic 2010s, this isn't a handover that should cause us any concern. Domaine Bernard Baudry is in safe hands, I think.