The current issue of the “Wine Spectator” — Jan. 31-Feb. 29, 2008 — helpfully recapitulates last year’s reviewing program by listing all the wines reviewed in 2007 by name, price and rating. The descriptions of the wines are omitted, but those tend to be pretty damned telegraphic anyway.

What’s interesting about the issue, though, is a section in which the Spectator’s writers and reviewers go country by country and region by region and reveal the average price of the wines in the different scoring categories. This is particularly important in the top scoring — let’s call it “iconic” — segment of wines rated 90 to 100 points of the WS 100-point scale.

Look for example at this breakdown for France:

Red Bordeaux: Average price of wines scoring 90 to 100: $95.
Red Burgundy: Average price of wines scoring 90 to 100: $116
White Burgundy: Average price of wines scoring 90 to 100: $86.
Rhone Valley: Average price of wines scoring 90 to 100: $72.
Loire Valley: Average price of wines scoring 90 to 100: $32.
Alsace: Average price of wines scoring 90 to 100: $73.
Champagne: Average price of wines scoring 90 to 100: $92
Languedoc & Roussillon: Average price of wines scoring 90 to 100: $35.
Other France: Average price of wines scoring 90 to 100: $41.

Do I have to spell it out for you? B-U-Y L-O-I-R-E.

It’s also interesting that for California, the guide does not go through all the counties and regions and valleys in similar manner; that would take a book. Instead, the matter is arranged by grape. Here’s the sequence:

Cabernet sauvignon: Average price of wines scoring 90 to 100: $103.
Chardonnay: Average price of wines scoring 90 to 100: $48.
Pinot noir: Average price of wines scoring 90 to 100: $52.
Syrah: Average price of wines scoring 90 to 100: $47.
Zinfandel: Average price of wines scoring 90 to 100: $32.
Merlot: Average price of wines scoring 90 to 100: $52.
Sauvignon blanc: Average price of wines scoring 90 to 100: $24.
Other grapes: Average price of wines scoring 90 to 100: $45.

Do I have to spell it out for you? B-U-Y S-A-U-V-I-G-N-O-N B-L-A-N-C A-N-D Z-I-N-F-A-N-D-E-L.

Now these figures do not take into account the rarity of certain wines, the prestige of properties and vineyards and other factors, but this much is clear: Of all the regions and countries mentioned in this exercise, only New Zealand comes in at a lower average price — $30 — of wines scoring 90 to 100 points than the Loire Valley. And much as the wines of New Zealand have improved in the past 10 or 15 years, they don’t represent nearly the diversity of grapes and styles that the Loire Valley does, from Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume in the east to Muscadet in the west, with Chinon and Anjou and Savennieres and Vouvray and Saumur and many other smaller appellations in between.

Perhaps 2008 should be the Year of the Loire, and we should spend the next 10 months exploring its varied treasures.

Alternatively, it seems like a good time to fill the spaces in your wine rack or the boxes in your closet with sauvignon blanc and zinfandel wines from California, experimenting with different regions, vineyards and labels. There would be worst ways to spend the rest of the year.

Tired of the full-throttle lime peel/grapefruit/tarragon/green bean assault you get when you open a bottle of sauvignon blanc from New Zealand (and increasingly from California)? The sauvignon blancs that are so crisp that the glass quivers when you set it down? Sure, those wines are fine sometimes, but they’re so upfront, so aggressive and showy that they get tiresome after a while.

Turn for relief to this trio of classics from Sancerre, in the far eastern reaches of France’s vast Loire Valley region. All three are from 2005, a great year in the Loire, as, indeed, it was in most of France if not the world. This area, where the river makes a great curve from its northward flow to heading west and slightly southwest, seems to be the natural home of the sauvignon blanc grape. The best-known appellations are Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé; lesser designations are Touraine Sauvignon, Menetou-Salon, Quincy, Reuilly and Coteaux du Giennois. All produce, when the grape is properly handled, wines of great verve and energy, grounded in a full range of lemon attributes, nerves of acid and bones of limestone. The best wines are truly elegant, yet that doesn’t mean that different growers and winemakers don’t imbue their wines with varied characteristics. And because of the wide use of stainless steel in these areas, rarely does oak intrude on the grape’s purity and intensity.

Look first at the Sancerre 2005 from Daniel Chotard. This is super fresh and clean, spare and elegant yet earthy. Notes of fresh-cut grass and tarragon are subdued to lemon zest, limestone and a flash of flint. The wine is quite crisp and dry but bright and juicy, too, and it picks up hints of spiced lemon and jasmine on the finish. Attractive and delicious but with a touch of reticence. Imported by Kermit Lynch, Berkeley, Ca. Excellent. About $19 to $26. We drank this with salmon wrapped in lettuce and steamed.

Offering more in the grassy-herbal category is Celestin Blondeau’s Sancerre “Cuvée des Moulins Bâles” 2005. The bouquet embodies mown fields of grass and hay where tangles of thyme and tarragon lay (to be Midsummer Dreamish about it) with powerful accents of lemon and hints of lime peel and tangerine. If this sounds deliriously attractive, well, it is. Acid is crisp and sprightly and even the mineral element is lively. It’s not so much elegance going on here as irresistible vitality. Imported by Ex Cellars Wine Agencies, Solvang, Ca. Excellent. About $19 to $25.

The most delicate (and paradoxically the earthiest) of these three Sancerres is Alphonse Mellot’s Sancerre “La Moussière” 2005. Mild lemon and roasted lemon scents feel the pull of smoke, ash and limestone that can’t conceal winsome hints of quince, dried thyme and tarragon. The wine is clean and crisp in the mouth, yet limestone and flint come up in a powerful tide, and the texture turns out to be both dense and ethereal. A delicious feat of prestidigitation. Domaine Select Imports, New York. Excellent. About $23 to $26.

So, anyway, I landed in New York a week ago today, that is, March 11, and launched myself to work on Monday, at a tasting of Loire Valley sauvignon blanc wines put on by the Loire Valley Wine Bureau. Instead of rounding up a cattle-call of labels, as so often happens at trade tastings — these are attended primarily by wholesalers, retailers, restaurant people and the press — the organizers presented only 35 wines, most of which were top-quality. These were mainly from 2005, a year that has producers celebrating all over France, though a handful of wines from 2004 that were displayed were seductively attractive.

The sauvignon blanc area of the Loire Valley nestles in the eastern part of the region, where that scenic river, which threads its way through the heart of French history, makes a great curve from the south to the west. The most familiar appellations are Sancerre and Pouilly Fume; the others, smaller and relatively obscure, are Touraine Sauvignon, Reuilly, Quincy, Meneton-Salon and Coteaux du Giennois. Loire Valley wines remain seriously underpriced; these represent fabulous value.

I’ll be writing about these wines in detail on a page on the website, but for the moment, I’ll mention five Loire Valley sauvignon blancs you can’t live without, though, as usual and regretfully, I make no promises about availability. 

*Domaine Mardon Quincy Tres Vieilles Vignes 2005. “Very old vines,” indeed, in this case 85 years old. Loads of nerve and energy animate this drinkable yet seriously dimensioned and detailed sauvignon blanc that’s loaded with peach, pear, apple and lime flavors and huge reserves of acid and minerals. I was knocked out. About $13.

*Domaine Henry Natter Sancerre 2004. Not just classic in proportion and detail but a wonderful wine, blazingly clean and fresh and crisp, tremendously earthy and spicy, and, surprising for the price, capable of aging to 2010 or 2012. About $14-$15.

*Domaine Claude Lafound Reuilly “Clos Fussay” 2005. Keen acid, crystalline citrus flavors, shimmering limestone, lovely texture, amazing tone and verve for the price. About $15. 

*Tour St. Martin Meneton-Salon 2004. I hate to be overdrawn on my “lovely” account, but I have to write the check and pronounce this sauvignon blanc lovely in every aspect and scintillating in its exquisite integration and balance. Pay attention to the way in which crisp acid, dense limestone elements and an almost plush texture support and invigorate each other. About $18. 

*Domaine de Congy Pouilly Fume “Cuvee Les Galfins” 2005. Bouquet, fruit, texture draw you in irresistibly, the huge earthy and minerally qualities held in perfect equilibrium with electric acid and toothsome pear, peach and melon flavors. About $20.