Sauvignon Blanc is a grape that has become synonymous with the bold, fruity, easy drinking whites of New Zealand, but in its spiritual homeland of the Loire Valley, and specifically the Pouilly-Fumé appellation, complex and mineral-driven wines made by the likes of Domaine Michel Redde will make you re-imagine what you thought was possible from this Noble Grape.

Flint, or silex as it is known locally, is an incredibly prized terroir and although people talk about gun flint notes in relation Pouilly-Fumé, it’s not all that common. Back in 2009, Domaine Michel Redde, now run Thierry and his two sons Sébastien and Romain, created what Jamie Goode has called 'one of the most remarkable' vineyards he has ever seen in an abandoned flint quarry in Tracy-sur-Loire, just over the river from Sancerre.

To plant each half a hectare required the manual removal of 300 tons of large flint, this truly is a labour of love... Thankfully they persevered, because their resulting Michel Redde Pouilly-Fumé Barre à Mine is a 'once in a lifetime Sauvignon Blanc experience' (Matthew Jukes).

While the 2019 vintage has not yet been scored, of the most recently scored 2017 vintage, English critic Matthew Jukes announced he was 'overjoyed to give a perfect 20/20'. With Decanter giving the 2019 vintage in the Loire Valley as a whole a unprecedented 'good to very good' rating for the sixth vintage in a row, there is no doubt that such a brilliant winemaker as Redde has made a positively stellar wine.

A Sauvignon Blanc that has unrivalled 'cosmic balance' and 'inescapable magic' in the eyes of Jukes, he places it above Haut Brion Blanc, Margaux Pavillon Blanc and fellow Loire legend Cotat as one of the greatest white wines in France. Costing only £31 per bottle IB, the price really is as astonishing as the wine. For all its majesty and blue-chip credentials, it offers tremendous value compared to all of those illustrious names.

Wine has been running through the veins of the Redde family for almost 400 years, they can trace their family's winemaking origins in Pouilly-sur-Loire back to 1630. It remarkable that they are still at the forefront of this historic wine region all these years later.

Offered today at a special pre-arrival price of just £186 IB per case IB, the Michel Redde Pouilly-Fumé Barre à Mine 2019 is a bargain for its quality level and should be unmissable for Loire devotees and lovers of the world's finest white wines alike.