Fancy a Sleeping Beauty château with your crottin? Fiona Sims picks some of the food and wine highlights of the Central and Upper Loire.
Loire Valley travel guide: Six of the best wineries to visit
☆ Domaine Henri Bourgeois, Sancerre
Affable patriarch Jean-Marie Bourgeois has a stake in New Zealand but the real action is in his Loire wines, including Le MD de Bourgeois, from the vertiginous slopes of Les Monts Damnés. henribourgeois.com
☆ Le Clos du Tue-Boeuf, Touraine
Brothers Thierry and Jean-Marie Puzelat tend their 10ha biodynamic Cheverny estate and rent further hectares in AC Touraine, for stellar pétillant naturel and superior blends of the Cot grape. puzelat.com
☆ Domaine de la Noblaie, Chinon
Jérôme Billard makes sparkling Touraine, and white and cherry-packed red Chinon, which you can enjoy on picnic tables (bring your own food) beside his vines. lanoblaie.fr
☆ Domaine Vigneau-Chevreau, Vouvray
One of Vouvray’s biodynamicists. A Cave Touristique, thanks to its atmospheric cellar, it makes affordable sparkling Vouvray and classy, dry Chenins. vigneau-chevreau.com
☆ Domaine de la Paleine, Saumur
The chic little tasting room, in a riverside village near Saumur, is open daily from 9am to 6pm and offers the full range, from Saumur Rouge to top white, Casta Diva. There’s also a smart apartment to rent above. paleine-montsoreau.fr
☆ Domaine de la Butte, Bourgueil
Jacky Blot’s Cabernet Franc is one of the best-rated reds of the Loire. Blot also does a fine Montlouis under his Domaine de la Taille aux Loups label. jackyblot.fr
