Les Coueries has a little extra age and a little extra gravitas. The fruit has moved into bruised apple, quince paste, lemon curd, lanolin, toasted nuts and savoury stone.

This is the slow-down bottle: richer, more evolved, more contemplative. Still fresh, because Chenin, but with more autumnal depth. Serious wine for seriously good times.

Château de Bonnezeaux is one of those Loire stories that feels almost too good to be true: a historic Anjou estate that made no wine for decades, with vineyards left abandoned before the family brought it back to life in 2012. Guyonne Saclier de la Bâtie led the resurrection, shaped by her work with Mark Angeli and Stéphane Bernaudeau, and today the story continues with Léa Meslet and Pierre Boisseaux bringing fresh energy to the domaine.

Because these dry Chenins don’t fit the traditional Bonnezeaux AOC rulebook, they wear the humble Vin de France label. Don’t be fooled. These are serious, quietly culty wines: old vines, high standards in the vineyard, and that electric Loire acidity running underneath.