Henry Marrionet (who is gradually handing his domaine off to his son Jean-Sebastien) has bottled a formidable 2005 Domaine de la Charmoise Touraine Sauvignon, from pebbly, flint-rich so-called perruche soil. Scents of melon, yellow plum, lime, parsnip and caraway rise from the glass. In the mouth, chalk, salt, toasted caraway and distilled pit fruit flavors mingle with the plum and melon. Remarkably soft in texture, the wine finishes full of fruit but with a faintly bitter concentration of toasted, zesty, mineral notes. From among, if not, the oldest wine-bearing vines on the planet – verified to have been planted (ungrafted of course) in 1850 – Marrrionet crafts a tiny amount of remarkable wine of cepage Romorantin. Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800