The Price of Pure Joy - October's Wine of the Month - Voyage Dans Les Vignes Primula Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2024
“I made a mental note to watch which bottle became empty soonest, sometimes a more telling evaluation system than any other” Gearld Asher, Wine Writer
Those very words, in some assemblance of an order on two occasions over the past month. Once it was when I took a bottle of Un Voyage Dans Les Vignes Primula to my little sister’s house for a family dinner. My sister, while knowing a fair amount about it, doesn’t really drink wine, or drink much of anything for that matter, so when I saw her returning not once, but twice, to refill her glass, each time with a surprised tone in her voice, “I can’t get over how good this is!” as she poured herself another deep pour. The other was the last week in September as the team gathered to pick October's Wine of the Month.
I almost didn’t mention this wine because it is out of the normal price range we try and keep to for Wine of the Month, a feat that is getting harder and harder to do these days and keep up with the quality of wine we insist upon for our month-long feature. I kept thinking about how much my sister liked the wine, how every place I took a bottle brought everyone so damn much pleasure, the raised eyebrows, the smiles, the refilling of glass after glass, me wishing I had grabbed a third bottle. I felt I would be doing my wine loving customers’ disservice to not toss the wine in the ring as contender for Wine of the Month. Bottles opened, corks all over the bar, team running through all the suggestions and there was my little Loire Valley white, the bottle nearly empty because we all kept going back for more. We all feared the price might keep people from trying it but, if you look at the prices of Sancerre and other Loire Valley Sauvignon Blancs? When you look at how much wine you get for this price? We had to do it. It was a no brainer. It’s not too expensive, it’s actually super inexpensive when you see how much volume, texture, exuberant fruit and refreshment you find in the glass.
Un Voyage Dans Les Vignes means a journey through the vines, and in this case the vines are located in the Nantes region of the Loire Valley. The region is much more known for Muscadet (the oyster wine of France), the steely white made from Melon de Bourgogne, than it is for Sauvignon Blanc. But these meticulously, organically grown Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Gris have flourished here and we get to reap the benefits. Exploding with tropical fruit, passionfruit, guava, quince and ripe peaches wrapped in fresh herbs and splashed with citrus. The body is silky and round but still lacy and light, playful and utterly charming. I think the winery said it best on their website: “The whole team of Un Voyage dan les Vignes wishes you a joyful tasting with those you love.” Our team here at The Wine Country wish you the same, grab a half case of one of the hottest values in French white wine we have in the store right now, and enjoy with those you love. Cheers.
