Loire Valley Wines

The Loire valley is the third largest wine region in France, the second largest region for sparkling wine, and the number one for wines consumed in French restaurants. So what do the French know that we don't know? Visitors from the UK now have the opportunity of buying our selected Loire wines through Grainger Fine Wines www.gfwine.co.uk
 

The Romans planted the first vineyards in the Loire valley in the first century AD. By the fifth century wine making was flourishing throughout the Loire valley and was developed over the next thousand years by the monasteries and by the French and English nobility.

By the 11th century the wines of Sancerre had a reputation across Europe for their high quality. In the High Middle Ages, the wines of the Loire Valley were the most esteemed wines in England and France, even more prized than those from Bordeaux.
 

In the whole of the Loire valley there are 68 areas under the quality system Appellation D'Origine Controlee (AOC), and of these there are 29 Appellations in the Anjou and Saumur area. With 185,000 acres (750 km2) planted under vine, the Loire Valley is about two-thirds the size of the Bordeaux wine region.

The Loire river and its tributaries such as the Layon, L'Aubance, Thouet, Cher, Indre and Vienne have a significant effect on the mesoclimate of the region adding the necessary extra few degrees of temperature that allows the grapes to grow and ripen. Uniformity is definitely not what this region is known for as the area has a varied soil structure of clays, tuffeau stone, schist gravel and microclimates and this diversity of terroir gives up such a wide variety of wines.
 

The primary white grape varieties are Melon de Bouregogne, Chenin Blanc (known locally as Pineau de la Loire or France Blanc), and Sauvignon Blanc. The primary red varieties are Cabernet Franc (also known as Breton), Gamay, and Cabernet Sauvignon with other lesser used varieties.
 

The wines produced in the Loire valley cover the whole spectrum of colours, nose and taste and therefore cater for most palettes. Each wine has its own distinct flavour and taste. The white wines vary from bone dry through medium sweet to sweet; the rose wines vary between dry and medium; the red wines vary between fresh and fruity to medium and fuller bodied; and the sparkling wines are white, rose and red - and all are produced in this one amazing area!
 

Manoir de Gourin is located centrally between the Anjou and Saumur AOC areas and conveniently situated for our tours of the vineyards between Angers and Tours.

Vintages

For those of you looking to purchase a Loire wine we have summarised the recent vintages in order to try and assist you with your choice.

2002 was a great year for dry white chenin blanc wines better than the 1996 vintage. These wines can be laid down in the short term. As an example look for  Savennieres a lovely bone dry wine from the AOC on the river just south of Angers. This is vigorous full bodied and supremely elegant and offers a bouquet of lime blossom, fern and jasmine.

2003 was one of the great Loire vintages. Both the reds, particularly, and the white chenins are well balanced with lots of fruit and as good as 1997 vintage.

In 2004 the western AOC's were good but further east the Sauvignons were a lot more varied so stick to good wine makers.

What can be said about the 2005 vintage? Good hot weather produced some real beauties. Why not open a sweet chenin from the Coteaux de Layon AOC now or if you are looking to extend your cellar these will improve over the next decade.

Go for sauvignons from Sancerre and Pouilly Fume from the 2006 vintage which are better than 2005. This was not such a good vintage for Muscadet, Anjou and Saumur.

2007 in the central region gave us a mediocre year slighter better than the previous year. So stick to drinking Saumur and Anjou now and don't bother laying down.

2008 was generally good across the board in the Loire. We have laid down some Chinon and Saumur-Champigny both red Cabernet Franc.

We have been tasting the 2009 in Saumur, Anjou and Chinon before bottling and can report some really good finds so far. The vinification process has been slower this year than normal and if the wines progress well to bottling we reckon this will be a cracking year for reds. Its a bit early days for the whites and roses but with our experience on the tastings this should also prove to be a good year for melon, chenin and sauvignon. We will keep you updated on the wines to go for of the new vintage.

We hope you find a wine that will encourage you to visit us in the Loire valley and extend your enjoyment of the many amazing wines on offer. If you would like some specific help, please email us. Our address is on the contact page.