It was at the end of her fifth year of putting in long hours as a legal researcher at Skadden, Arps that Isaure de Pontbriand-Cribiore decided to chuck it all and join the family winery. Goodbye to Times Square and a pad on Houston Street. Hello to the old, ineffably lovely Chateau des Vaults, seat of Domaine du Closel, in the Savennieres appellation of the Loire Valley. Its 42 acres of vineyards looking down on the Loire River and warmed by afternoon sun are some of the finest in the region. Ms. de Pontbriand-Cribiore, now 29, is the fifth generation of her family to be involved with the property.

Unusually for a French wine dynasty, the last three generations at the helm of Domaine du Closel have all been women. Unusual, too, is the wine of Savennieres, a dry white wine that doesn’t act like one. Typical was the reaction of an older customer who sampled Clos Du Papillon, the property’s flagship wine, at a tasting hosted by Ms. de Pontbriand-Cribiore at the Wine Vault in Chelsea Market last Friday.

“This wine is sweet,” said the man.

“It does have has a very slight amount of sugar,” said Ms. de Pontbriand-Cribiore, “but the wine is considered dry.”

The man looked at her disbelievingly. And well he might have. The wines of Savennieres, vinified from the Chenin Blanc grape (called Pineau de Loire by the locals), typically seem scented by honeysuckle or lime blossom. Even before tasting the wine, you may assume that it will be sweet. In the mouth, too, Savennieres sends out mixed signals. It can remind you of citrus, but also of quince, almonds, acacia honey, even beeswax. But underpinning all these top notes is a firm base of stoniness, as if the essence of the slatey soil into which the vine roots penetrate has dissolved in the wine. That ineffable merger of floral, citrus, and slate is what makes Savennieres singular.

In Napoleon’s day, Savennieres was much esteemed. Its most famous vineyard, Coulee de Serrant, was named one of the world’s five greatest white wines by the French gastronomic writer known as Curnonsky (1872-1956). True, Curnonsky was born in Angers, just a few miles north of Savennieres, but the best examples of the wine itself will cancel out any suspicions that he was biased. One problem for Savennieres is that it is less well known than such other wines on Curnonsky’s list as Chateau d’Yquem, Le Montrachet, and the Hungarian Tokay. The wines need to be marketed, and that is the job taken on by Ms. de Pontbriand-Cribiore, who is conducting more than a dozen tastings of Domaine du Closel wines during her current 10-day visit to the East Coast. While the U.S. is currently the property’s major export market, Ms. de Pontbriand-Cribiore wants to develop a following for the wine in the fast-growing Asian market.

The modern reign of women at the domain began in 1973, when the Marquise de Las Cases, a childless widow, gave the property to her niece, Michele Bazin de Jessey. Though not used to manual labor, the new owner nevertheless got her hands dirty in the vineyards and updated the winemaking. She soon became president of the Savennieres appellation, the first woman in France to reach such a position. Ms. de Jessey passed the property on to her daughter, Evelyne Bazin de Jessey, Vicomtesse de Pontbriand, in 2001. Then a teacher of French literature, the younger Ms. de Jessey learned winemaking at her mother’s side, commuting to the domain from her Paris home. Isaure, the oldest of Ms. de Jessey’s three children, studied law for three years in Paris before deciding to come to New York. “Paris was very provincial,” said Ms. de Pontbriand-Cribiore. “Every social group was in its own little box. New York isn’t that way.”

The daily grind in the mergers and acquisitions department at Skadden, Arps “didn’t have enough moments of intellectual stimulation,” said Ms. de Pontbriand-Cribiore. Soon after her boyfriend and now husband, Federico Cribiore, moved from New York to London for work, she told her mother that she was ready to sign on to the family winery. That wasn’t a surprise to Ms. de Jessey. “I took over the winery from my own mother because I knew that Isaure was interested in it,” she said.

High acidity, veiled by intense fruit, makes Savennieres last long. David Lillie, co-owner of Chambers Street Wines, and a Loire specialist, told me that at a vertical tasting a few years ago of Domaine du Closel’s wines going back to 1959, the best wine was the 1967 vintage, then approaching its fourth decade. It used to be that a steely young Savennieres could bite your gums. But I’ve noticed that the current wines are more giving in their youth. The superb 2002 vintage, for example, already gives pleasure.

In the unceasing search for wines to complement Asian food, Savennieres comes up a winner. Domaine du Closel’s off-dry “Les Coteaux” 2002 effortlessly stood up, with its substantial 14.5% alcohol, to spicy Chinese takeout at my house last Saturday. On Monday evening, an array of wines from the property matched the elegance and intense flavors of a dinner hosted by Ms. de Pontbriand-Cribiore at Megu, the haut-Japanese hot spot in TriBeCa. The top dish for me was the miso-marinated silver cod with Shimeji mushrooms, baked in a parchment packet, accompanied by “Clos du Papillon” 2002.The wines even go well with such vegetables as asparagus and artichokes, which turn most wines metallic and sour, according to Ms. de Pontbriand-Cribiore. That premise can be tested in June and July, when Domaine du Closel will offer cooking classes at the Chateau des Vaults using vegetables, as well as fruits, from the gardens on the property. Concerts and dramatic reading are also offered to the public in the chateau’s ballroom. Details at www.savennieres-closel.com.

Recommended Wines

DOMAINE DU CLOSEL, “CLOS DU PAPILLON” 2002, $21.95

The domain’s top wine from a vineyard shaped like a butterfly’s wings, hence the name. Despite being full bodied, it also manages to be as light as a butterfly. Its range of essences, from beeswax to acacia, are Savennieres trademarks. At Sherry-Lehmann, 775 Madison Ave., 212-838-7500.

DOMAINE DU CLOSEL, “LA JALOUSIE” 2002, $18.99

An assemblage of old and young wine from a steep hillside. Dry like the above, and with a similar complex of scents and flavors, thought not quite as full bodied. Good value. At Chambers Street Wine, 160 Chambers St., 212-227-1434.

DOMAINE DU CLOSEL,”LES COTEAUX” 2002, $29.95

On the sweet side, or what the label calls “Moelleux.” As dry Savennieres seems sweet, this sweet version actually seems to end up dry, perhaps due to its sprightly acidity. An effortless match to vegetable soups. At Morrell, 1 Rockefeller Plaza, 212-688-9370.