2018 Francois Chidaine Clos de la Grange Touraine Sauvignon Loire 750 ml

François Chidaine’s name is one of those restaurant wine menu markers where, if you see it listed, you instantly know you’re in good hands. If you stroll to any Parisian bistro in the 11th arrondissement or to the finest restaurants throughout New York or San Francisco, no top-notch wine list is without at least one Chidaine.

But sommeliers aren’t his only fans. Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate has called François “one of the world’s finest craftsmen of white wine” and “a continuing source of amazing value.” Chidaine’s wines remain a recurring favorite of The New York Times’ famously reserved wine critic, Eric Asimov, who has called François “an excellent producer” and his wines “superb.”

This 2018 Clos de la Grange Sauvignon Blanc gives many a classic Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé a run for the money for just $20. The 2018 is impressively sophisticated, with its addictively aromatic fresh lemon character that opens up with a healthy swirl in the glass into grapefruit pith, green apple, lemongrass, gunflint, and bright yellow flowers. Super-crisp and mineral-driven, the vibrant lemony palate evolves with even more wet-stone mineral complexity over time, culminating in a brilliantly clean, mouthwatering finish that begs for the next sip. 

Clos de la Grange is one of François Chidaine’s finest achievements, which is high praise for the man who may well be the Loire Valley’s brightest star. His calling card is his laser-intense, single-vineyard bottlings, but he somehow managed to capture the same level of precision in this multi-vineyard blend from the rolling Sauvignon Blanc vineyards that surround the historic city of Tours. 

Southwest of Paris, Touraine’s soils are an enviable mix of flint and clay grown on a bedrock of tuffeau limestone. Chidaine has farmed his great vineyards biodynamically since 1999 (well before it was cool), and his ultra-low yields and hands-off winemaking always results in wines of staggering texture and terroir-driven complexity.

He has been perfecting his protocol in the vines and cellars of the Loire Valley since he was a young boy. He worked alongside his father Yves on four hectares of rented Montlouis vineyards until Yves retired in 1989. The enterprising son now manages 30 hectares of vines, some as old as 80 years old. 

It gives you an idea of Chidaine’s standing in the Loire that when Benjamin Dagueneau—the son of the late Loire superstar Didier Dagueneau—wanted to gain experience as a younger man, he went to work with Chidaine. Benjamin now makes his father’s famous ($140+) Silex Pouilly-Fumé—arguably the most coveted Sauvignon Blanc on earth. 

Just like all great sommeliers, we love Chidaine because the wines remain so ridiculously affordable, while managing to appeal to experienced palates and novices alike. Indeed the brisk minerality and ripe, juicy fruit on his 2018 Clos de la Grange Sauvignon Blanc make it the perfect crossover between Loire Sancerre and New World styles—at a fraction of the price.