We Love Our Crisp French White Wines!

While the rest of the country is under a paralyzing blanket of arctic cold, we here in Southern California are enjoying our mid-70s temperatures and clear views of the San Gabriel mountains. I suppose that's why our ancestors picked up and moved here.

Besides the weather, one of the benefits of living in a metropolis rather than the sticks is access to a wide array of terrific wines such as the crisp, no-oak French wines we do, most all made by dedicated vignerons, and not factory tank farms.

When I get home from work on such days, I like to shake the road dust off by uncorking a fresh-tasting white wine that revives me, tickles my palate and prepares me for the question of the night: what'll we have for dinner?

If you are ambitious enough to shuck your own oysters or you just happened upon a bunch of mussels ready to be steamed and cooked with a little garlic in white wine, your aperitif white can suddenly turn profound. Same goes with an improvised tower of fresh shrimp, steamed clams and cracked crab legs. That is what these wines were really made for.

You'll find most of these wines come from France's Loire Valley, a favorite destination in our wine store. You can also find some crisp whites in Bordeaux, Languedoc, Provence and the Cotes de Gascogne when we can get them.

Join us this Saturday as we taste through some of these crisp French white wines!

Here are a dozen of my current favorites, just enough to create a mixed case:

2024 Chateau Sainte Marie Entre-Deux-Mers "Petite Marie", Bordeaux – $14.99
This is a second wine for the Chateau, but very much an accomplished everyday white Bordeaux. Fashioned by Stéphane Dupuch in the legendary white wine region, there is a Sauvignon-Blanc-provided herbaceous-ness in the aroma. The mouthfeel is almost luxurious, with a round texture. There is a nearly saline character to the grapefruit-tinged flavor. Quite impressive and a true value. Just 12% alcohol.

2024 Sylvain Bailly Quincy, Loire Valley – $21.99
Years ago when I told importer Michael Sullivan how much I enjoyed Bailly's Quincy, Michael replied, "I drink this when I'm invoicing customers. It's dangerous." Yes, I get it. A bottle of this does disappear quickly at my house. Bailly, the great Sancerre producer, has a vineyard parcel near the village of Quincy, some 35 miles to the southwest. Lightly herbaceous, suggesting that of Sancerre, it has a roundness in texture with attractive fruit. Not as assertive as Sancerre, but very nice and proportioned.

2024 Delaille Vin de France Sauvignon Blanc "Unique", Loire Valley – $17.99
We've been offering the "Unique" bottling from this Kermit Lynch Imports Cheverny producer for nearly two decades. Lightly herbaceous in the aroma—sort of a "Sancerre-Lite"--it is very round on the palate, with lovely fruit. Is there a note of pine somewhere in there? Great Value.

2024 Delaille Cheverny, Loire Valley – $19.99
Cheverny lies in the Sancerrois region of France's Loire Valley. Sauvignon Blanc is the primary grape, but other white varieties can go in the mix, in this case 85% Sauvignon Blanc and 15% Chardonnay. We've been carrying this wine on and off for the entire existence of our store. A bit of herbaceousness in the aroma. A round, almost luxurious texture, with a bit more structure here. Generous and attractive fruit courses in the middle, with a steely finish that means business. A Kermit Lynch import.

2023 Domaine du Haut Bourg Vin de Pays du Val de Loire Sauvignon – $12.99
This charming white was created by a Muscadet producer near where the Loire River empties into the Atlantic. With a Sancerre-like herbaceousness in the nose, this bright, rambunctious Sauvignon Blanc is contained in a round, almost luxurious texture. Great value.

2022 Chateau de Chantegrive Graves Blanc, Bordeaux – $15.99
There are two directions the whites of Bordeaux travel: the ambitious route of the lofty chateau bottlings that cost an arm and a leg and you're not really sure you like them all that much—and—the crisp, fun, satisfying dry whites that you pull out of the fridge and enjoy night after night. This is the latter, a 50/50 blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon that offers a bit more than the modest price suggests. Very pleasant fruit with a lightly herbaceous character, ample fruit and a pleasurable, slatey finish. Refreshing.

2024 Chateau Graville-Lacoste Graves Blanc, Bordeaux – $20.99
This is one delicious white Graves from Kermit Lynch Imports. We've been offering this wine for thirty vintages. This long-established Kermit Lynch import continues to offer fresh-tasting quintessential white Bordeaux flavor and texture. A typical blend of 60% Semillon, 35% Sauvignon Blanc and 5% Muscadelle; average age of vines is 35 years. Winemaker Hervé Dubourdieu (who also crafts the excellent Sauternes Roumieu-Lacoste) has once again provided one of the great bargains in our store.

2024 Petit Freylon Bordeaux Blanc – $10.99
How good can an eleven dollar wine be? After looking at this wine on our shelves for the better part of a year, I finally got around to trying it recently. Wow! I just may have discovered my new house white. The Sauvignon Blanc aromatics jump out of the glass. The impression is a fruity, herbaceous, pleasurable drink, fairly round on the palate with a lasting finish. Impressive at any price.

2024 Les Tuffeaux Sancerre, Loire Valley – $27.99
This co-op bottling is a private label of the importer, usually the type of wine we avoid for their middling quality, but this bottle is an exception. Given that we can't seem to keep Sancerre in stock, we were pleased to discover this reasonably-priced, easy-drinking Sancerre with a lot more generous fruit that we ever expected.

2023 Jo Landron Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur lie "La Louvetrie" – $19.99
Harvested from 15-30 year vines that are farmed biodynamically at the highest point in the domaine's holdings, this handsome wine is fermented using native yeasts, making classic Muscadet that is bottled without fining. Crisp acidity and good levels of minerals lead to a fullish wine that remains fresh and vibrant 'til the end.

2023 Gilbert Chon Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur lie "Les Salines" – $19.99
Bright, and vibrating with energy. Citrus, lemon rind and minerals all over the finish. It has a little more oomph than your run-of-the-mill Muscadet.

2024 Domaine Michel Bregeon Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur lie – $20.99
This dry white comes from vines ranging from 4-65 years old, thus combining feisty youth with the complexity that you get from older vines. This is traditional Muscadet in all of its flinty, stony goodness. This historic domaine helped to redefine Muscadet as we know it. Tasting a Muscadet from Domaine Brégeon is enough to convince anyone that the region is capable of much more than the simple quaffer. Bring on the oysters and assorted shellfish!