Handpicked Selections, Day 2: Sauvignon Blanc Without Grass Clippings
There are a lot of aggressively mediocre Sauvignon Blancs in the world. You know the type; shrieking grapefruit, a face full of freshly mowed lawn, and enough sharp acidity to sand paint off a fence. Wines engineered less for enjoying and more for loudly announcing, “I AM SAUVIGNON BLANC.”
Thankfully, this is not one of them.
The 2024 Domaine Durand Sauvignon Blanc IGP Loire comes to us through Handpicked Selections, Jacques’ deeply value-driven import company that continues to supply us with some of the best bargains in the shop. This bottle, from a single site in Touraine, massively overdelivers for the price and reminds me why Loire Sauvignon Blanc remains one of the smartest white wine categories on earth.
Touraine doesn’t always get the glamour treatment that Sancerre does, but frankly, that’s part of the appeal. While everyone else empties their wallet chasing labels, wines like this quietly go about being delicious. Also, I’ve found that as the years go on and Sancerre gets warmer, Touraine is a more honest place for Sauvignon than it used to be.
This really is delicious.
The nose leans into lime zest, green pear, and a little flinty snap, while the palate stays bright and energetic without turning into an acid attack. There’s texture here. Actual balance. Enough fruit to feel generous, enough minerality to keep things honest, and none of the tropical fruit cocktail nonsense that plagues so much inexpensive Sauvignon Blanc these days.
It tastes like someone cared.
This is the sort of wine that earns its keep incredibly quickly. Put it next to oysters, goat cheese, grilled shrimp, roast chicken, or a plate of salty potato chips and suddenly the bottle is gone and someone’s asking if there’s another in the fridge.
Which, for the record, there should be.
What I particularly love about wines like this is that they don’t require a TED Talk before opening. Nobody has to discuss soil composition for 45 minutes. You chill it, pour it, and immediately understand the assignment.
Fresh. Honest. Ridiculously drinkable.
Jacques has a knack for finding exactly these kinds of wines. These are bottles that feel authentic, unpretentious, and priced as though the producer forgot what everything else costs these days.
A perfect house white. A perfect Tuesday wine. A perfect “why did we only buy one bottle?” wine.
Highly recommended. Another Handpicked Case Buy Alert.
