I’ve never been to the Loire, and it’s a massive miss. Burgundy, Bordeaux, the Rhone. All those French regions have been ticked off. But not the Loire, complete with all its authentic, underrated glory.

I’m missing wines like this Domaine Des Forges Coteaux du Layon 1er Cru Chaume 2020. This is Chenin like Chenin should taste – lovely. It’s so juicy and ripe with a lovely orange and mandarin velocity too it. Round, gently honeyed peach, but this juiciness. It’s a mouthful with just a little honeyed sweetness. Yet it’s not sweet. It’s not broad. There’s no late flab, no lumpy bits, just a carefully held expression of medium-bodied, expressive white wine, complete with sufficient acidity and even a streak of ‘minerality’ (a dumb word that I hate, but let’s use it anyway).

Hard to match the ‘just right’ expression of this style anywhere else. I need to go to the Loire…

THE VERDICT

• Best drinking: now
• Score (out of 20): 18.5
• Score (out of 100): 94
• Alcohol %: 12
• RRP (in $AUD): 55
• Winery website:
• Would I buy it?: absolutely.