The Loire vineyards run alongside the largest river in France, and covers a huge tract of land from the Atlantic ocean near Nantes, all the way east and south almost to the Rhône. Not surprisingly, there is a huge variation in climate and soil along this stretch of land.
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Location
A large region stretching the length of the River Loire, from central
France to the west coast.
Grapes
- Sauvignon Blanc: green, tangy white
- Chenin Blanc: green, tangy
white and also sweet wine
- Muscadet: bone-dry and neutral
- Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir:
light strawberryish or blackcurranty reds
- Gamay: simple and
light red
Look Out For
- Sauvignon Blanc appellations: Menetou-Salon,
Pouilly-Fume, Quincy, Reuilly and Sancerre.
- Dry Chenin Blanc
appellations: Anjou Blanc, Montlouis, Saumur Blanc, Savennieres
and Vouvray.
- Sweet Chenin Blanc appellations: Bonnezeaux,
Coteaux de I'Aubance, Coteaux du Layon, Montlouis, Quarts
de Chaume
and Vouvray.
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The Loire is split into three sections:
1. Western Loire
A coastal area, known as the 'Pays de Nantes', and the home of Muscadet. It is an area of low, sandy hills, with a cloudy and cool climate.
2. Middle Loire
This section includes such well known wine regions as Vouvray, Tourraine and Chinonhas. It has a much milder climate, with moderate rainfall. The great white grape of the region is the Chenin Blanc, which is used for both dry and sweet, sometimes Botrytis-affected wines. The middle Loire also produces red wines using Cabernet Franc.
3. Upper Loire
Located roughly in the centre of France, this north-eastern section of the Loire is often referred to as the 'central vineyards'. It has a very continental climate, with short, hot summers. The soil is a mixture of sand, chalk and limestone, which is known as 'Tufa'. The Upper Loire's most famous white wine grape is Sauvignon Blanc grape, which is used exclusively to produce Sancerre. Red wines are made from the Pinot Noir grape.
The White Wines of the Loire
There are three main grape varieties grown in the Loire: Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc and Muscadet.
Sauvignon Blanc
The Sauvignon Blanc grape produces crisp, refreshing wines which have a tingling green apple, gooseberry and blackcurrant leaf taste. The best examples of Sauvignon Blanc wine comes from the chalky hills around the town of Sancerre. At its best, Sancerre is an incredibly vivid, pungent wine, with grassy, gooseberry aromas and plenty of acidity. Just across the river from Sancerre lies Pouilly-Fumé, whose wines are said to pick up subtle, flinty flavours from Silex, the flint-rich soil of the area.
Chenin Blanc
The Chenin Blanc grape produces wines in a whole range of styles: dry, sweet and sparkling. Dry styles can range from austere and steely wines, through to honeyed, buttery wines, laced with quince and angelica. Dry Chenin Blanc may appear as Vouvray Sec, Savennières or under a variety of different regional names. Vouvray and Savennieres need several years' aging, whilst wines such as Samur and Anjou Blanc are better young.
Thanks to the micro-climate that creates the ideal conditions for Botrytis cinerea, the Loire produces a number of great sweet Chenin Blanc wines. These will be labelled Vouvray moelleux, Quarts de Chaume, Bonnezeaux and Coteaux du Layon. These can require from 10 to 20 years to mature, so that their youthful high acidity and piercing sweetness can be transformed into a marvellous mellow maturity of honeycomb and quince.
Muscadet
The third major white grape in the Loire is Muscadet, used for the neutral-tasting dry wine of the same name. The most important thing to look for on a Muscadet label is the phrase 'sur lie', which means the wine was aged on the creamy-tasting yeast sediment (the lees) left over after fermentation. Aging it this way gives the wine life and depth. However, Muscadet is often unfortunately overpriced for its quality.
The Red Wines of the Loire
Although the Loire is far better known for its white wines, it does produce a number of interesting reds, which are good value for money. They have plenty of restrained fruit flavour, with grass, redcurrant, raspberry and plum flavours and aromas. Whilst a few of these are quite weighty, most are decidedly lightweight compared to the average New World red.
The major grape in this region is Cabernet Franc. There's also a little Pinot Noir in the Upper Loire, which is milder and lighter than in red Burgundy. The Gamay grape produces a decent but earthy Beaujolais.
The Rosé Wines of the Loire
Finally, the Loire is home to several rosé wines. Anjou Rosé tends to be a dull, sweet and rather uninteresting wine, whilst Cabernet d'Anjou is usually drier, tastier and much more refreshing.
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