The Loire Valley offers a diverse range of wines. White wines dominate the region with Chenin and Sauvignon Blanc and although reds from this region play second fiddle good Cabernet Franc wines are available.
The Loire running from east to west in central France has three areas of note. In the east, the towns of Sancerre and Pouilly-sur-Loire give us two classic wines. Sancerre is a light dry wine suitable for quenching a summers thirst, Pouilly-Fume is a little more robust and has a distinct 'flinty' character. Both are Sauvignon Blanc's and are more drinkable and less pungent than the very distinctive New Zealand 'blancs'.
In the central Loire valley is city of Tours. Chenin Blanc gives us the wines of Vouvray (a town near Tours) which can vary from dry (sec or demi-sec) to sweet (moelleux or doux). Tonight I will be trying a dry Domaine de Vaufuget Vouvray from 2002. The region also produces good Sauvignon Blancs, I recently opened a '2004 Les Charmes Touraine' which showed strong apple notes and the characteristic 'grassy nose'.
In the west of the Loire valley around the city of Nantes near the Atlantic coast we find the Muscadet grape (aka Melon de Bourgogne). This gives us the very light and dry wine of the same name which is typically a cheap but drinkable wine. Muscadet suffers from what I call the 'Blue Nun' effect* but don't let this put you off. Muscadet wine is often left in contact with the fermenting yeast for a number of months which can give the otherwise light wine more structure & character. Muscadet processed in this way usually have 'sur lie' on the label, so keep an eye open for that when choosing a bottle.
I have not had as much wine from the Loire as compared with Burgundy or Bordeaux but it does seem to offer a large diversity that would be worth exploring. Enough talk, I'm off to crack open that Vouvray, let the exploration begin.
* Blue Nun effect - I coined this term to describe the effect one poor, low reputation brand can have on a whole market. Blue Nun introduced many English people to wine in the 70's but the quality was low and its reputation put many people off trying other German wines. This is a pity because there are many good German Rieslings and Gewurtztraminers to be enjoyed.
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7 comments:
I, for one would appreciate a "quick 'n dirty" wine guide. The reviews are very good, but I need a chart I can consult.
It would be hard to write a "quick 'n dirty" wine guide but maybe I will give it a go.
Would the guide be a tasting guide (i.e. going through the different flavours in wines) or a buying guide (i.e. simply stating the difference between Bordeaux and Burgundy)?
Like most things in life the more you learn the more enjoyment you will get out of it and the more you realize you know very little.
A brief synopsis of each wine and what it goes with, origin and flavour.
OK, it might take some time to do this put I will begin thinking about it.
I agree. something that doesn't require any knowledge but a good recommendation for some wine. sometimes i go in a wine shop and come out again because I was just looking for a nice bottle of red. too overwhelmed by choice I then leave, promising to do some research but never do.
What we're looking for is the Tesco "quick 'n dirty"! guide to wine. But with a serious side effect - after the guide, I want to be drinking a nice, appropriate wine with my steak tomorrow, know whether iots a muscadet, semmillion or Merlot and if its the appropriate time and food to be having said wine?
Yea, if the grape got a bit of frost on May the twenty eight, I can live with that.
Working on this, will take a little time. I will make it easy since I am beginner with this stuff too.
That been said the more you know the better chance you have of making a good purchase.
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