Domaine de la Taille aux Loups Vouvray Clos de la Bretonnière 2009: Clean and crunchy Chenin fruit character here, with beautifully crystalline fruit on the nose, pure and lifted. The palate follows on in much the same style, showing delightful fruit concentration, sweet and defined Chenin character, backed up by a light grip and plenty of firm, fine acidity. Supple, minerally yet rich and with a fleshy touch of residual sugar. An absolute delight. 17/20

Château Gaudrelle Vouvray Moelleux Réserve Personelle 2009: From a half bottle. The nose is very expressive and characterful, with honeyed elements redolent of sweet peach and apricot conserve, both suggestive of a botrytis component, combined with a delightfully fresh and crunchy frame. Unsurprisingly this continues on the palate, all beeswax and honey, sweet sugar-dipped peach and tropical fruits, with a wonderfully dry, crunchy, caramel tinge. This will be delicious, and it will be ready very soon. My only complaint is that the acidity struggles to make its presence felt; it is there, but it is very subtle. For that reason I can't mark it any higher. 16/20

Domaine de la Taille aux Loups Montlouis Rémus 2009: This has a smoky character to the nose, a little sulphurous if anything, although there is a gritty freshness to it as well. The palate has a very bold, firm, solid character at first, before relaxing in the middle to show a more open and yet bright construction, with deliciously crystalline acid fruit at its core. The residual is very low I think, but not rock-bottom. I think in its present state it is very difficult to judge but the raw materials underneath it all are clearly of high quality. It will need cellar time but should be very good. 17/20

Domaine de la Nobliae Chinon 2009: This is very classic and true to the appellation on the nose, with bright and stony plum and raspberry fruit alongside the complexities of smoky char-grilled capsicum and celery seed, a surprising tinge of green considering the ripeness of the vintage. The substance on the palate matches this, a stony texture with a fresh seam of forest fruits in the middle. Hold in the mouth and it shows a really appealing savoury edge. This is good wine. 15.5/20

Couly-Dutheil Chinon Domaine René Couly 2009: Some very pure and polished fruit on the nose here, substantial and showing an appealing typicity. Also a fine cherry stone substance to it. Nicely fleshed out on entry though, still with a very well defined acid backbone and light grip of tannin too, slowly building in the mouth. Full, sappy, a touch juicy even, and very refreshing. Cleaner and a little less vegetal than some of the preceding wines. 15.5/20

Charles Joguet Chinon Cuvée Terroir 2009: There is something very distinctive about Joguet wines in some vintages, a funk that comes not from the soil or the fruit, but from Brett. It's not in every Joguet cuvée (although there is always bottle variation with Brett), just in some, but it is here on the nose of this wine, giving a slightly feral, animal-wool scent to the fruit. There is only a trace of 4-ethylphenol, the responsible molecule, on the palate though, which shows a fine-grained stone-edged layer of rather spicy fruit, with a supple and mouth-filling texture, balanced out by some gentle acidity. Despite that funky nose I rather like it; it needs a year or two but it will drink very well, provided there is no unwanted blooming of its wilder side. 15/20

Charles Joguet Chinon Varennes du Grand Clos 2009: There is no Brett in this wine (or in this bottle I should say), unlike the Cuvée Terroir. There are ultra-ripe, ultra-lush layers of fruit here, very rich with a forest fruit character, with a gritty-sugar, cherry, plum and damson style. Remarkably high-toned, perfumed, with notes of violet and something of a crystalline edge to the fruit despite the overt ripeness and sweetness. A polished style overall, a little savoury at the very start, with a lightly peppery edge to the fruit, with a massive amount of grip and acid coming through the core of the wine. Late harvesting and maybe even a rather energetic extraction here, giving this a massive, feature-laden palate. It seems a little top heavy, over-extracted and atypical, but it will be interesting to see which way it goes. 14.5?/20

Domaine de la Butte Bourgueil Le Haut de la Butte 2009: A very expressive wine here, very pure and lifted in terms of its fruit character, which has a sweet, gritty, perfumed cherry note. This character comes through onto the palate, which has a light and rather gritty-crunchy style, although with a supple layer of fruit laid over the perfumed inner core. Overall this is very distinctive, bright and persuasive. It has a good style which needs a year or two in the cellar but which will drink very nicely in time I think. 16/20

Domaine de la Butte Bourgueil Mi-Pente 2009: Some really dark and glossy fruit here, with just a twist of volatile acid, showing the high-toned and very ripe nature of the fruit. Still carrying a few winemaking scents, a little whisky mash, perhaps partly related to the barrels. This comes through on the palate too, which has an incredibly bright and high-toned layer of fruit, fresh and with a good core of grippy tannin around it. Fine acidity too. The flavours are incredibly primary, the fruit very high-toned and perfumed. At present this needs to be left well alone, but the raw materials are very impressive. 18/20

Charles Joguet Chinon Clos de la Dioterie 2009: Again a high-toned, fruit-rich style, perfumed and fresh but indicative of plenty of ultra-ripe fruit again. A tinge of smoke here, over the sweetly fleshed-out plum and damson aromas. This perfumed chalky-fruit character comes through onto the palate too, and there is a little oak coming through from the nose here also. Good acidity, gentle but appropriate, well-hidden beneath the fruit, and some ripe and supple tannins too. Interesting and less extracted than some of the preceding wines. There is plenty of chewy grip at the finish through. Again, much promise here. And no Brett, for the moment. 17.5/20

Domaine de la Charmoise Touraine Vinifera Cot 2009: A very typical Malbec nose here, showing almost gamey fruit, deep and certainly richly characterful. The palate carries a more stony fruit character, dry but perfumed and chalky, bright and lifted, not richly textured but certainly full of flavour. It does have a very feminine feel to it though. An interesting wine. 14.5/20

Vincent Pinard Sancerre Cuvée Nuance 2009: rather an appealing fresh and floral character to the nose here, just a little oaky honeyed sweetness to the character of the wine, but also a well defined and very expressive layer of fruit. On the palate it shows a rather wound up, dry and golden-fruited character, with good grip and substance but not a lot of the bright fruit or elegance that we might expect. Good acidity under it all, something of a zesty orange character too, and lots of grip. But rather a solid and substantial wine for the appellation, tinged by oak, and with a big grippy finish. 15/20

Vincent Pinard Sancerre Cuvée Harmonie 2009: A gentle layer of softly waxed oak on the nose here, masking any fruit character than there might be beneath. On the palate a good depth and breadth to the wine, well composed with a charming substance and also a bright acid core, but the flavours are here also dominated by the oak, which also brings with it a big, grippy style which claws down the palate. Again, as with the Cuvée Nuance, not what I would want from the appellation. 13.5?/20

Alain Cailbourdin Pouilly-Fumé Triptyque 2009: This wine has the golden crunch of new oak on the nose, and the palate can do little else but follow on. Rather an esoteric style through the middle, full and rich, endowed with plenty of fresh acidity and also some good juicy fruit character, but it is all encased in a layer of golden toasted oak. The raw material is clearly of good quality. I know this wine has its fans, but I find myself wondering if the oak ever subside. 13?/20