Anjou is often ignored as a source of good and interesting wine, but as I have learnt this attitude is a mistake. As always, conscientious producers turn out good examples. Nevertheless, many would regard Savennières as a step up in quality. This little-known appellation spawns some classic, structured, surprisingly ageworthy wines. Traditionally the style is said to be off-dry, but many are now turning out super dry wines. As for Sancerre, as a student I must confess this wine was a significant feature in my cellar (and those were the days when I had a proper cellar, a dank underground space beneath our late Victorian terraced house). I seem to have drifted away from the appellation over the years, preferring the delights of Chenin to Sauvignon, but was glad to taste even the most basic cuvées of Alphonse Mellot here; clearly a great talent.

VGL Anjou Les Roches 2003: Barrel fermented, with eleven months in oak thereafter. Fairly rich, golden hue. Honey and straw, a suggestion of minerality. Good palate. Very dry, but with a firm weight and some good grip. Good flavour, woolly, honey-edged green fruit. A peppery character throughout. Rather a harsh bitterness, probably oak derived, present towards the finish which is the main detractor. Nevertheless enjoyable, in a very rustic way. 15/20

Domaine des Baumard Savennières Trie de Speciale 2000: An appealing golden colour with more than a little depth. Very mineral in character, smoky stone fruit, with nuances of orange and thyme. Rich palate, with the suggestion of botrytis-derived flavours, but bone dry, with plentiful and firm alcohol, and grippy structure, providing for a rather foursquare, masculine mouthfeel and presence. This is clearly in need of bottle age in order to soften and develop, and is bristling with potential Very good. 17+/20

Domaine des Baumard Savennières Clos du Papillon 1999: Good, shimmering pale lemon hue. The nose is delightful, proffering great minerality, with notes of melon, pineapple, crystalline tropical fruits. Fresh, firm, minerally palate. The midpalate is packed with grip. Real tangible extract, lemony acidity, joyous presence on the palate, and a liquorice twist on the finish. Showing much more flavour, grippy structure and potential than when tasted at the domaine. Will do well in the cellar, for five years at least. Very good indeed, could be excellent. 17.5+/20

Domaine des Baumard Savennières Clos du Papillon 1994: Rich, deep, golden colour. An amazingly expressive nose, with minerals and chalk, honey botrytis, lemon and orange, and powdered rocks. Great richness is the impression, borne out on the palate, but with an almost paradoxical bone dry structure. Pervasive, flamboyant, fresh, with a fine, honeyed texture backed up by rocky minerality and great acidity, this is superb. Showing much better than my last tasting, and my estimated drinking window from my last bottle may be a little conservative - this could go one for years and years. Excellent. 18+/20

Alphonse Mellot Sancerre La Moussière 2003: Pale hue. Lovely nose, showing lots of minerality, chalky and gunpowdery, flinty even, but with a little ripe melon fruit to give some roundness to the aromas. Deliciously fresh and yet ripe, flavoursome palate. The chalky, stony character comes through, with some nice grip and plenty of firm, stony presence. Although this is balanced out by notes of pear, and fleshy white stone fruit. This is lovely stuff, and shows what Sauvignon is capable of given the right environment, and the right hands. 17/20

Alphonse Mellot Sancerre Rosé La Moussière 2004: A very pale pink. Aromatic, leafy red fruit nose. Some vanilla cream, and notes of thyme too. Full, flavoursome palate. It has clean acidity, and quite a grippy finish. This is accompanied by a pleasing, leafy, raspberry and strawberry character. Good. 15/20

Certainly a contender for the region's greatest appellation, Vouvray still exists today thanks mainly to the late Gaston Huet, onetime vigneron, mayor of Vouvray and an instrumental figure in preventing the vineyards being replaced by a TGV express line. Although my cellar includes a number of Huet Vouvrays, young and maturing, I decided not to pull any of these. I stuck with the young, recently purchased wines from two other favourite domaines. These represent two ends of the style spectrum available here; wonderfully mineral, fresh, dry Chenin in one hand, and in the other (this is beginning to sound like a good tasting!) the rich, sweet style, often helped along by botrytis.

Champalou Vouvray Clos du Portail 2002: Wonderful, aromatic, mineral, plump pineapple and dried fruit nose. Classic Chenin with a stony edge, and suggesting a little more richness on the nose than previously. Beautiful palate, with fresh yet weighty mineral fruit. This has real grip and verve, and displays superb balance that causes the wine to simply glide across the palate. Continues to open out, building weight and flavour, before a pepper-laden finish. Quite some length too. Fantastic wine, which may yet develop further. 17+/20

Champalou Vouvray Cuvée Mouelleuse 2002: Pale hue. Water-light nose, floral and suggestive of delicate sweetness. Sweet, weighty, balanced palate, showing fresh, floral, slightly minty white fruit. Full structure, with fine acidity and a little grip. This is pleasant now, but brimming with potential for the future. My score reflects hope of development rather than current pleasure - this needs ten years minimum. 18+/20

Domaine des Aubuisières Vouvray Cuvée Silex 2003: A very pale, limpid hue. Delightful nose that carries me straight back to my tasting in Bernard Fouquet's cave; ripe pears, and also freshly picked mint. Lovely presence on the palate, showing a little fatness in keeping with the ripe vintage. Good mineral character, a little white pepper on a slightly drier finish. Simply lovely style. Drink now or over the next five years. 16.5+/20

Domaine des Aubuisières Vouvray Cuvée Alexandre Moelleux 2003: Just a little deeper than the Cuvée Silex, but not much. A pleasing, mineral-laden nose, showing some herb-tinged tangerine skin, melon and pear. And what a palate; creamy yet balanced on entry, showing great concentration and also moderate weight, building through the midpalate. And then an expanse of flavour, touched with joyful nuances of caramel (reminiscent of Baumard's 2001 Quarts de Chaume) and ripe melon fruit, which slowly fades along an elegant finish. Super length. This is stunning. Will go for years, maybe decades. An elevated score. 19+/20

I tasted just two red wines, to make a cursory nod towards the Loire's major red variety, Cabernet Franc. I was speaking on the subject of Loire Reds only yesterday with Simon Taylor of Stone, Vine & Sun; he told me they will be listing fewer such wines in the future as they just don't sell. What a shame, especially with such good recent vintages, the balanced, elegant 2002 and the rich, ripe 2003. The latter, from my tastings so far, is an outstanding vintage for Loire Cabernet Franc. I've already begun to purchase said wines, such as Couly-Dutheil's Clos de l'Echo and Joguet's top cuvées, but have left these for future tastings.

Domaine des Roches Neuves Saumur-Champigny 'Terres Chaudes' 2003: Deep, intense, impressive, youthful purple. This youth is also evident on the nose, which shows a wealth of primary black cherry and damson fruit aromas, with a little twist of tobacco. Warm, ripe, expansive palate, showing plenty of conserve black fruit, but not huge or jammy. Decent acidity, although on the low side, together with soft, ripe tannins which mean this wine should improve over the next 1-2 years, although it's eminently enjoyable now. A success, in a successful vintage. 16.5+/20

Couly-Dutheil Chinon 'Les Chateliére' 2003: Still a deep, purple hue. A buttery nose, with ripe berry and forest fruits, backed up by a smoky edge. Full palate, packed with flavour, and still showing obvious, awkward youth. Soft, ripe, supple tannins lend structure but do not distract. Almost chewy, tarry, tobacco-laden nuance to the finish. My first impressions were, I think, correct; this cuvée has piles of potential. Today it shows even more texture. Very good. Leave another 3-4 years at least. 16+/20

A stunning, underappreciated, undervalued wine region. Some vignerons get away with charging an arm and a leg for their Coteaux du Layon, and yet some seem to charge a pittance. In the latter category there are some stunning producers, including Claude Papin and Jo Pithon, for instance. I tasted a range of Claude's wines here, among others, and finished off with two youthful wines from Bellerive. As this was predominantly an assessment of young wines I left my 1988 and 1990 Bellerive, of which there are cases in my cellar, well alone....even though these two vintages are drinking beautifully now.

Chateau Pierre Bise Coteaux du Layon Beaulieu L'Anclaie 2001: Mid-golden hue. Quite classic nose, showing talc and mineral-infused citrus fruit, coated in honey. This comes through on the palate, which still demonstrates a very primary, oily, viscous, honeyed fruit palate, with a minerality like that on the nose, cut through with some fairly firm acidity. Whilst lovely to drink now, this is destined to be a long-lived cuvée. Will improve in bottle over the next decade with ease. Great quality here. 18+/20

Chateau Pierre Bise Coteaux du Layon Beaulieu Rouannières 2001: A tinge of golden colour here. Gorgeous nose; smoky, stony, cordite-infused. Very organic, almost animalistic character. This is showing lovely development. Big, rich, sweet, luscious palate. Incisive acidity, which becomes apparent on the endpalate once the seductive texture has played its part. That organic, minerally character again. Lemons, oranges, botrytis? This is simply superb, and also shows great development compared to my tasting at the domaine. Great length. 18+/20

Chateau Pierre Bise Coteaux du Layon Beaulieu Clos de la Soucherie 2001: Elegant, fruit dominated nose, a touch ethereal, showing botrytis with a little exposure to air. Rich, apricot, honey, mineral character on the palate, matched by sufficient acidity. Mouth-coating, expansive, almost luscious feel. But has great balance. Shows some grip at the finish. Long, lingering presence. Delicious, with superb potential; should improve over the next 5-8 years. 18+/20

Chateau Pierre Bise Quarts des Chaume 2001: Attractive, light-golden colour. Intense nose; chalky, mineral, botrytis character, with wild honey, honeysuckle and pepper. Sweet, impressive palate, with plenty of impact from the moment of entry. Lovely acidity, countering the rich, oily, viscous style. Minerally, organic, savoury yet seductive. Great length. Very good indeed, with great potential. 18.5+/20

Delesvaux Coteaux du Layon St Aubin Clos du Papillon 1998: Rich, burnished orange-gold. Lovely nose, heady and aromatic, with plenty of rich orange and quince character, with a firm volcanic mineral streak as well. Rich yet balanced, with an appealingly, slightly bitter structure. Absolutely packed with mineral influences, smoke and gunpowder. Superb wine for what is essentially a lesser vintage. Good length. 17.5+/20

Petit Metris Coteaux du Layon St Aubin 2002: Lemon gold hue. Interesting nose, with a chalky minerality alongside notes of grapefruit, blood orange, . Moderate weight, not showing a huge presence of residual sugar. Nicely balanced though; good, firm acidity alongside a very firm structure. Very good, zesty, sharp impact on the palate, with a lemon pith and black pepper character. It has the acidity to go for some time in the cellar. Should drink well for 10-15 years. 16.5+/20

Petit Metris Quarts de Chaume 1998: Deep, slightly burnished, golden hue. A very interesting, expressive nose; quite organic in character. Dried straw predominates, with aromas of wet wool, and rocky mineral notes alongside. Quite woody too, although this dissipates. Immediately apparent on the palate is a sherbetty spritz. Good character as on the nose, showing classic Chenin flavour with a depth of chalky minerality. Fresh acidity and lovely weighty texture. Certainly a wine that reflects its origins, with the advantage of being quite approachable now, although it should drink well for a decade. Very good indeed. 17.5+/20

Chateau Bellerive Quarts de Chaume 2002: A very pale, shimmering lemon-gold hue compared to the two slightly older cuvées, Very simple on the nose, just a little floral element. On the palate it has exquisite balance and fresh acidity, with a lacelike texture dancing across the palate, although there is solid structure and potential for development clearly evident. Nevertheless, at present it is one-dimensional and shallow, with just a little citrus and floral character. This is indicative of the lighter, delicate styles which can be found in the 2002 vintage; this needs a long slumber in the cellar before it will show great interest. 17+/20

Chateau Bellerive Quarts de Chaume 1997: A deep, golden-orange hue. A fantastic nose, rich with aromas of orange marmalade, apricot and honey. There is plenty of botrytis influence here. It has a rich, palate-coating, impressive presence. Minerality and botrytis-derived richness combined, with a vein of fresh acidity to maintain balance. This is stunning stuff indeed. Although I suggested this needs years in the cellar, it is still approachable now, although it will certainly age slowly and gracefully. 19+/20

Chateau Bellerive Quarts de Chaume Quintessence 1997: Very deep, burnished gold. Intense nose, with even greater depth than the straight 1997.Caramel, honey, toffee, maple syrup, beeswax and more; what an incredible nose. Great depth and the evolution of complexity is apparent on the palate. Glorious, opulent, rich yet fresh, although as previously noted acidity does seem to be on the low side. Long, lingering finish. The greatest example of QdC I have tasted, showing just that little bit more convincingly than my last tasting, and compared to the straight cuvée. Stunning. 19.5/20

Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume 2001: From a half bottle. Mid-golden hue. Beautiful nose, of barley sugar and oranges, with chalky, talcy, mineral notes bringing up the rear. Full, creamy style on the palate, simply laden with exotic flavours; oranges and other citrus fruits, flowers, lychees even. Mineral and with great acidity, with a lovely weight and presence. Previously showing quite a caramel note, this is much less evident today. Drink over the next 20 years. Stunning. 19+/20