Mary Taylor Valencay Loire Valley Red Blend 2022

Vin Chicago: 90 Points

(2/2025) Micro-negociant Mary Taylor brings us this charming French country red from Sophie Siadou. A unique blend of near-equal parts of Gamay, Côt (Malbec), and Pinot Noir, it receives lengthy aging in neutral casks before bottling. A fun amalgam of the underlying varieties, with the bouncy fruit of Gamay, the given silky levity from Pinot Noir, and Malbec's deepening color tone and structure. Notes of mixed berry, cherry, bee pollen, dried tobacco, dried plum, crushed stone, and violets - this feels like a quintessential Loire red and reminds us of how Malbec and Cabernet Franc are not so different!