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2023 Savennières
Château d’Epiré
Chenin Blanc finds one of its most classic expressions at the venerated Château d’Épiré, whose vineyards overlooking the Loire River are widely considered to be among the grands crus of Savennières. Boasting a sublime tension, this blanc would perfectly suit many preparations of seafood.
—Tom Wolf
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2023 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Chenin Blanc |
Appellation: | Savennières |
Country: | France |
Region: | Loire |
Producer: | Château d’Épiré |
Winemaker: | Paul Bizard |
Vineyard: | Planted in 1965-2013 (average 35 years old), 8.5 ha |
Soil: | Schist |
Aging: | Juice rests for 24 hours before being racked into stainless steel cuves for fermentation to begin |
Farming: | Lutte Raisonnée |
Alcohol: | 12% |
More from this Producer or Region

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2021 Chinon “La Croix Boissée”
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2023 Saumur Mousseux “Bulles de Roche”
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This sparkling wine has decadently rich, honeyed fruit and a nice dollop of buttery brioche.

2022 Vin de France Rouge “Le Martray”
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The new vintage shows great freshness and brightness, making me think of tart berries picked in the forest just a touch below full ripeness.

2021 Chinon “Le Clos Guillot”
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Even though all of the wines hail from Chinon, the soil, elevation, and exposition all combine to make Le Clos Guillot their cuvée with the most finesse.

2023 Savennières “Cuvée Spéciale”
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Powerful, cellar-worthy dry Chenin aged in chestnut, oak, and acacia.

2021 Saumur Champigny “Terres Chaudes”
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Thierry has perfected the art of coaxing this Cabernet Franc’s soulfulness and elusive finesse into bottle.

2020 Bourgueil “Les Perrières”
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The family’s grandest wine, a brooding elixir of satiny fruit, cedar, and graphite.

2024 Jasnières
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Racy, slightly honeyed, exotically perfumed, and loaded with minerality, this wine is an excellent representation of how Chenin reacts to the local conditions.

2020 Vin de France Rosé Grolleau/Cabernet Franc “Les Arceaux”
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About The Producer
Château d’Épiré
One of the oldest and most celebrated domaines in Savennières, Chateau d’Épiré is rich in history. Savennières is situated just southwest of Angers, on the north bank of the Loire River. Vines have been cultivated there since the time of the Romans. The domaine itself has been in the Bizard family continuously since the 17th century. The most recent owners and caretakers of the land are Monsieur and Madame Luc Bizard. They own eleven hectares, nine of which are entirely dedicated to the cultivation of Pineau de la Loire, known today as Chenin Blanc. The château is exquisite, but the pièce de résistance is their winery, formerly a Romanesque chapel, which is from the 12th century. Truly a blessed wine!
About The Region
Loire
The defining feature of the Loire Valley, not surprisingly, is the Loire River. As the longest river in France, spanning more than 600 miles, this river connects seemingly disparate wine regions. Why else would Sancerre, with its Kimmeridgian limestone terroir be connected to Muscadet, an appellation that is 250 miles away?
Secondary in relevance to the historical, climatic, environmental, and cultural importance of the river are the wines and châteaux of the Jardin de la France. The kings and nobility of France built many hundreds of châteaux in the Loire but wine preceded the arrival of the noblesse and has since out-lived them as well.
Diversity abounds in the Loire. The aforementioned Kimmeridgian limestone of Sancerre is also found in Chablis. Chinon, Bourgueil, and Saumur boast the presence of tuffeau, a type of limestone unique to the Loire that has a yellowish tinge and a chalky texture. Savennières has schist, while Muscadet has volcanic, granite, and serpentinite based soils. In addition to geologic diversity, many, grape varieties are grown there too: Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, and Melon de Bourgogne are most prevalent, but (to name a few) Pinot Gris, Grolleau, Pinot Noir, Pineau d’Aunis, and Folle Blanche are also planted. These myriad of viticultural influences leads to the high quality production of every type of wine: red, white, rosé, sparkling, and dessert.
Like the Rhône and Provence, some of Kermit’s first imports came from the Loire, most notably the wines of Charles Joguet and Château d’Epiré—two producers who are featured in Kermit’s book Adventures on the Wine Route and with whom we still work today.
More from Loire or France
2018 Saumur Blanc “Le Clos du Moulin”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2020 Saumur Champigny “Clos de l’Échelier”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2023 Savennières “Cuvée Spéciale”
Château d’Epiré France | Loire
2023 Chinon “Les Petites Roches” Blanc
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2020 Sancerre Rouge "Champs d’Alligny"
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2020 Saumur Champigny “Outre Terre”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2022 Chinon
Bernard Baudry France | Loire
2022 Chinon “Cuvée Terroir”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2023 Saumur Mousseux “Bulles de Roche”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
Vouvray Brut
Champalou France | Loire
2017 Jasnières “Chant de Vigne”
Christine de Mianville France | Loire
2016 Jasnières “Chant de Vigne”
Christine de Mianville France | Loire
2018 Saumur Blanc “Le Clos du Moulin”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2020 Saumur Champigny “Clos de l’Échelier”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2023 Savennières “Cuvée Spéciale”
Château d’Epiré France | Loire
2023 Chinon “Les Petites Roches” Blanc
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2020 Sancerre Rouge "Champs d’Alligny"
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2020 Saumur Champigny “Outre Terre”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2022 Chinon
Bernard Baudry France | Loire
2022 Chinon “Cuvée Terroir”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2023 Saumur Mousseux “Bulles de Roche”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
Vouvray Brut
Champalou France | Loire
2017 Jasnières “Chant de Vigne”
Christine de Mianville France | Loire
2016 Jasnières “Chant de Vigne”
Christine de Mianville France | Loire
Kermit once said...

Kermit once said...
I want you to realize once and for all: Even the winemaker does not know what aging is going to do to a new vintage; Robert Parker does not know; I do not know. We all make educated (hopefully) guesses about what the future will bring, but guesses they are. And one of the pleasures of a wine cellar is the opportunity it provides for you to witness the evolution of your various selections. Living wines have ups and downs just as people do, periods of glory and dog days, too. If wine did not remind me of real life, I would not care about it so much.
Inspiring Thirst, page 171