Region: Loire Valley, France
Producer: Jean Pierre Robinot
Robinot is a capital-N Natural winemaker. The Loire valley vigneron — who works dutifully alongside his daughter, Juliette — has been unwavering in his commitment to organic farming, meticulous, unfiltered bottling, and low sulfur production since he began making wine 2001. At the time, he’d been running a wildly successful wine bar in Paris (since the ‘80s), but it was only in the early aughts that he determined to return to his hometown to actually make wine (his first cuvée is named Cuvée TGV for the high-speed train he took back and forth between Paris and the Loire Valley). As something of a household name, he’s most adored for his fun, dry, ever so slightly effervescent pét nats. While it’s been observed that the man runs a rather charmingly chaotic operation, he certainly knows what he’s doing.
Varietal: Chenin
This crisp-as-hell, crunchy pét nat is true summer wine at its finest (refreshing enough to convince you that it might just be hydrating). Up front, you’ll get waxy notes of tree fruit (pear, apple, lemon) while the finish skews more towards smoky, earth tones.