It is easy to imagine clarity in a visual sense. We are used to thinking of picture clarity or the quality of eyesight with simple metrics that measure the sharpness of what we see. This scale actually applies to all our senses. We hear things with varying degrees of definition. We also smell and taste and feel things with different degrees of clarity. Those last three senses all engage with wine, and the best wines smell, taste, and feel sharper. Emile Balland’s wine from the Sancerre-adjacent region of the Coteaux du Giennois always comes across clear and vivid in all three senses. It smells of lemongrass and basil, rosemary and lemon and white pepper and flint, clear and fresh notes of classic Sauvignon Blanc. The palate is vivid, excitable and high toned texture that carries notes of lemon curd and basil that opens into apricot and orange towards the finish. This delightful wine is named Waiting for the Beautiful Days because 2023 was a cold, wet, and frosty vintage in the Loire. Thanks to Emile Balland’s hard work, we don’t have to wait for the beautiful wine.