If you’ve already read part 1 and part 2 of this three part series, you’ll know that Loire Valley is a sure bet when it comes to good quality white wine. But for me, some of the most interesting yet neglected red wines of France are also from Loire.

Cabernet Franc is the key grape variety, which you’ll also see in Saint-Émilion and in other parts of Bordeaux as part of a blend. Vitally it needs less heat to fully ripen, so it is the grape of choice for many winemakers in Loire. It is lighter and less tannic, and can actually smell of unripe Cabernet Sauvignon as it can be very herbaceous. An intriguing and attractive smell of pencil shavings is cited as a common characteristic on the nose.

Chinon

The first time I came across Chinon was when I was on holiday in Loire in 2009. It was in a restaurant in the regions capital, Tours. My now fiancée wasn’t gone on it at first but then warmed to it. It was dry, light, herbaceous and served lightly chilled, but that’s the way the locals enjoy Chinon. I thought it excelled with the food we were having, the fruit and the acidity combining beautifully.

You can also get fuller, richer styles of Chinon, like those of Bourgueil (below). Whereas the lighter wines generally come from sand and gravel sites near the Loire river, the fuller styles come from limestone soils. Some will benefit from bottle aging, but a lot of those lighter styles are best enjoyed in their youth for their freshness and vibrancy.

Bourgueil

The medium bodied wines of Bourgueil typically have more prominent tannins than those of Chinon, and fragrant aromas of raspberries and more of those signature pencil shavings. The wines from warmer and riper vintages can age particularly well and become even more funky and interesting. St Nicolas-de-Bourgueil covers a small area to the west of the region. It has lighter soils and so produces lighter wines that mature a little earlier. The difference between the two regions, and indeed Chinon, can be sussed out in blind tastings by only the sharpest of palates. Bourgueil also does some very pleasant dry rosé made from Cabernet Franc, as I discovered to my advantage on holidays.

Saumur & regional Touraine

Saumur is a south westerly extension of Touraine, with Cabernet Franc being the dominant variety, which can be blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Pineau d’Aunis. Refreshing, light and fruity, it is made on soils similar to that of Chinon and Bourgueil. The region of Saumur-Champigny produces Loire’s most fashionable red, well, certainly in the eyes of Parisians. Silky, textured and fragrant, these wines are adored within France, but like many of Loire’s reds, receive little credit or recognition outside of France.

In the wider Touraine, Gamay, Côt (Malbec) and Pinot Noir are also grown. Unfortunately the chances of trying any of these wines in Ireland is remote because there simply isn’t the demand here. That’s not to say, outside of Loire, that you won’t pick up a few curiosities in the bustling restaurants of Paris or the country’s other major cities.

Spotlight on Loire: Part 1 and Part 2. To view our sale on the wines of Loire, click here.

The array of white wine styles coming out of Loire Valley make it an intriguing place for wine lovers. We’ll take a look at the wines of Touraine, including Vouvray, and we’ll also have a glance at Muscadet. Be sure to try a wine from these regions if you can get your hands on them. The key difference is in the grape variety they specialise in. Out of the three, the regional whites of Touraine should be the easiest to acquire.

To view my first post on Loire, which covers Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, click here.

Touraine

It is known as ‘the garden of France’, beautiful Touraine boasts the most grand of castles and stately homes. Château de Chambord and Château de Chenonceau (pictured) – are a must see if you ever go there. Centred on the town of Tours, Touraine is a vast area encompassing the famous red appellations of Chinon, Bourgueil and St Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, as well as the white appellation of Vouvray (below).

Whites labelled Touraine come from the wider Touraine area and are mostly made from Sauvignon Blanc, which makes it a good, less expensive alternative to Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. The wines are crisp, dry and racy, with the best Sauvignon de Touraine rivalling those from their premium neighbours. Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and Arbois may also be used in white Touraine blends and popular red grape varieties include Gamay, Cabernet and Côt (Malbec).

Vouvray

This is where the whites of the Loire get really interesting. The distinctive wines of Vouvray are made from Chenin Blanc and in the best years they can produce wines that live as long as the world’s oldest Rieslings. The wines are normally labelled sec (dry) or demi-sec (medium dry), with the naturally high acidity of the Chenin grape, particularly this far from the equator, balancing sweetness in the demi-sec wines, but also giving longevity. In warm vintages when sugar levels are at their highest, it’s worth checking out the Moelleux-style sweet wines. Vouvray at its best will produce fabulously complex white wines, appley and floral in their youth, and nutty and almondy with age.

Muscadet

‘Melon de Bourgogne’ is the official title given to the grape variety used in Muscadet. It can also be referred to as Muscadet, or simply ‘Melon’. Hailing from Burgundy, it is now at home in the far west of the Loire Valley. The better vineyards are in the Sèvre et Maine subregion south and east of Nantes, where vines are planted on well-drained soils. Skin contact, lees (dead deposits of yeast) stirring and barrel fermentation for the best wines all help to give greater weight and richness. Wines that have ‘sur lie’ on the label have been aged for some time on lees. Light, fresh and crisp with green apple and grassy aromas, a must try with oysters.

Sparkling

The Loire Valley is France’s largest producer of sparkling wines outside of the Champagne region. The majority of these Crémant de Loire are produced around the city of Saumur and are a blend of the Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc. In the cooler years producers in Vouvray might be better using their yields as a base for sparkling wine, but year in year out there are many excellent sparkling Chenins from this area.

In the final part of this series, we’ll look at the magical reds of Loire Valley. To view part one, click here. To view our sale on the wines of Loire, click here.

Without a doubt the cool climate Loire Valley deserves to be one of the world’s heavyweights when it comes to wine. It is arguably where the world’s best Sauvignon Blanc is made and that’s what most people know it for. But otherwise it can be somewhat overlooked. Some think that because it is so far north, the wines don’t achieve that sweet ripeness needed to become commercial and mainstream. Maybe that’s a good thing for the curious wine drinker.

Over this three part series we’ll look at what Loire does well in addition to the crisp, racy whites from Sauvignon Blanc, including some amazingly distinctive reds made from Cabernet Franc and not forgetting the best wine match for oysters in the shape of Muscadet. First of all, though, I think the famous Sauvignon Blanc producing sub-regions of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé merit a short post of their own.

Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé are to the far east of the Loire, actually closer to Chablis (northern Burgundy) than Muscadet in the region’s far west. Sancerre is a hilltop town (pictured, in the distance) on the left bank of the Loire River, and the area surrounding it has been a prime site for viticulture since Roman Times. It was in the 1970s that the modern commercial success of both Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé really got underway as they became the must have white for any quality restaurant.

Within the Sancerre region itself are varied terroirs, and by that I mean areas with a different soil make-up and micro-climate, which directly effect the style of the wine, sometimes in a very subtle way and sometimes not. The western vineyards predominantly consist of clay and limestone, which can make the wine quite powerful and intense. The more gravely vineyards lend more restraint and elegance, while the flint (silex) laden soils closer to the town can produce wines that are long living and particularly perfumed with excellent minerality and notes of ‘gunflint’.

On the other side of the river, the wines of Pouilly-Fumé from mainly limestone based soils produce a similar style. A blind tasting of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé would be a tough test for any wine drinker, but Pouilly-Fumé wouldn’t tend to be quite as diverse in terms of terroir. Some vineyards are rich in flint, however, so that distinctive smoky gunflint character can be found in the better wines. What Pouilly-Fumé doesn’t do is red wine. Sancerre has some success with light reds and rosés made from Pinot Noir. Both can use oak in their Sauvignon Blanc, but more often than not it is only to give texture and palate weight as opposed to making the wine taste oaky.

Ultimately both regions produce very lean, green and racy Sauvignon Blanc’s with glorious palate cleansing acidity. Like everywhere you’ll get some that don’t do justice, but in general both regions produce high quality wines. They can be enjoyed on their own, or ruined with anything sweet (sweet and acid don’t mix – it will make the wine taste bitter), so when pairing with food go for something with high acidity. Traditionally the goats cheese of Sancerre is one of the best natural matches, but any good Irish goats cheese will do the same job.

In part 2 we’ll explore the other white wines of Loire Valley, as well as a little sparkling wine. Click here to view our sale on Loire wines.