Produce of 100% Sauvignon Blanc fruit from the chalky clay soils of the Touraine in the central Loire Valley nears the city of Tours itself; shimmering green/gold in color with pretty, inviting, floral Sauvignon Blanc aromas suggestive of ripe melon and a fresh cooler season garden herb like chervil (Chezelles themselves note pamplemousse and lime); vivid on the tongue but with a ripe vintage suppleness and rondeur and tantalizing interplay of minerality and fruit like fleur de sel on cool melon (Henry noted just the right amount of tension); all said and done, this is simply delicious Sauvignon Blanc from among its happiest of places, showing its all in the here and now and noticeably easy on the wallet, too.

Touraine is located some 2 hours to the west of Sancerre by automobile, near the city of Tours. But the grape of choice here is also the Sauvignon Blanc, by comparison with Chenin Blanc for Vouvray closer by. Shimmering yellow/gold in color, with discreet aromas suggestive of orchard fruits, kaffir lime zest and the gentlest whiff of the vine leaf itself along with wine‑moistened limestone; the palate demonstrates an almost crystalline cohesiveness, a vibrancy and nerve and a mineral‑charged persistence, with delicate flavors that echo true to the aromatic slate; Henry noted the ever‑elusive character of yumminess. Sancerre lovers take note, this one pushes all the same buttons that finer quality Sancerre might also. Perhaps even moreso.

Well, the nickname for the wine, that is Petit F… , leaves a bit to the imagination. We have a bit of a joke with this around here. Probably just Fumé, though. And, to be sure, in terms of its value, this wine is smokin'. Pouilly‑Fumé is a bit under 20 minutes by car (not at all far, some 19 kilomètres or so) down the road from Sancerre. Short distance aside, there are, as well, more similarities between the wines from these two appellations than there are differences. Oh, for sure, there's a bit more clay in the soils at Pouilly‑Fumé, but, as in Sancerre, there is also flint. Pouilly‑Fumé, like Sancerre (Blanc) is made purely from Sauvignon Blanc grapes, a type of vine whose clusters are formed of small ovoid grapes, pressed against each other and resembling small bird eggs. At maturity, these grapes are coated with a grey bloom, the color of smoke — which explains why winegrowers here use the term "white smoke" or Blanc Fumé to describe the aroma/flavor of the wines. We, being fully convinced of the concept of terroir, note the flint. Rub two of these stones together et voilà, l'arôme de fumé blanche, a.k.a. gunsmoke. And, the wines nowadays, in these comparatively enlightened vinous times, demonstrate fully more desirable aromas: pristine platinum/yellow in color with ultra‑fresh aromas suggestive of ripe green/gold grapes ready for harvest in the cool of the morning, wine‑moistened limestone and gently toasted baguette with sweet butter and citrus preserves; ample on entry, rounded at the edges with gentle citrus pith lending structure on the tongue; one quite notices the ripe and rounded quality on the palate; this is wholly refreshing and satisfying Sauvignon Blanc from just right down the street from its lately more popular neighbor. But one would surely be hard‑pressed to find a decent Sancerre at anywhere near this price.

Domaine André Neveu was founded in the mid-1960s and is located in the town of Chavignol, also famous for its superb goat cheese Crottin de Chavignol. Valérie (3rd generation and the daughter of André Neveu) and her husband Thomas now run the domaine that extends to about 13 hectares (about 32 acres) of vines in the AOC of Sancerre. The name of the wine «Les Longues Fins» is a nod to the long slender plot of vines (all in Chavignol) planted to soils exclusively of limestone and from which the Sauvignon Blanc fruit for this wine is sourced. Brilliant platinum yellow in color with a panoply of ultra‑fine aromas suggestive of honeysuckle, peche de vigne, juicy ripe ruby red grapefruit, orange zest, crisp cool green melon, fresh picked chervil and summer rain‑moistened limestone; ultra‑fine on the palate as well, at once both slender of frame, yet ample, crisp and yet supple, too, and all the while fresh as spring itself with a nice streak of nervy fruity acidity keeping the taste buds all atwitter, indeed, long on the finish. Delicieux!