Loire Sauvignon Blanc 90 wines

The eastern section of the Loire Valley region is home to some of the wine world’s most famous names, which happen to be whites made from Sauvignon Blanc. Jim Budd details the essential knowledge

he land of Loire Sauvignon Blanc runs eastwards from Tours through Touraine along the Cher Valley across to appellations MenetouSalon, Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé and Coteaux du Giennois. The forested Sologne area makes a substantial gap in the middle. Appellations Quincy and Reuilly are to the west and south of Bourges.

Sauvignon is planted in the small appellations of Cheverny and Valençay – although wines from 100% Sauvignon Blanc are permitted, they are often a blend of Sauvignon with about 20% Chardonnay. There is some IGP Sauvignon planted in western Touraine and in Anjou, but it is not a major variety, nor do producers have any great ambitions for the wines they make from Sauvignon.

Touraine and the Central Vineyards are part of the clay limestone Paris basin. The proportion of clay varies from virtually nothing – the pure limestone of the caillottes – to the terres blanches, chiefly on the higher slopes, with a much higher amount. Flinty silex soils are also found across the region.

Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé are closer to Chablis (about 100km) than they are to Tours (180km) – Pouilly-Fumé is administratively in Burgundy. This means Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé have a much more continental climate than do the vineyards of Touraine, which benefit from the moderating influence of the Atlantic.

Furthermore, at Sancerre and Pouilly-sur-Loire, the river flows northwards and moderating influences are blocked by the high hills around Sancerre. This results in colder winters and curiously more rainfall and slightly hotter summers. Bud-break is a week or more later here than in Touraine.

TEssence of Loire

Sancerre is the wealthiest of the Loire appellations, with the last decade being particularly kind as it largely escaped the frosts that hit the others. Sancerre’s many steep slopes ensure that during spring frosts the cold air drains down. In 2016, frosts severely impacted the other Central Vineyards, including neighbouring Pouilly-Fumé and Touraine, yet only slightly affected Sancerre. Although parts of Pouilly-Fumé are as high as the equivalent in

Sancerre, the slopes are generally more gentle, so more frost-prone. In Touraine, many of the vineyards are on the region’s gentle sloping plateau, so are also at risk.

Increasingly, many producers are bottling either single-vineyard or single soil-type wines, such as those from Sancerre’s Les Monts Damnés and Le Chêne Marchand sites. These are well worth trying, but come with a price premium.

Outside France, the chances of finding a Loire Sauvignon Blanc in a restaurant that isn’t a Sancerre,

Climatically difficult with poor flowering conditions followed by drought and sharp heat spikes. Amazingly wines have a remarkable freshness despite the hot summer.

2018

Very hot year, very clean grapes but high alcohol levels a problem for some, resulting in a lack of acidity in some wines. 2017

Good harvest – attractive wines with restrained finesse. 2016

Mildew plus devastating April frosts especially in Coteaux du Giennois, Menetou-Salon and Pouilly-Fumé, often a tiny crop. Normal quantity in Sancerre. 2015

Smaller harvest than 2014 with very healthy, ripe grapes. Rich wines.

2014

A miracle vintage after a miserable wet and cold August. September was hot and dry with an east wind resulting in very well-balanced wines.

Pouilly-Fumé or Touraine are slim, as the export percentages in the box (above left) show. Touraine from a reputed producer is your best alternative option, unless you can find a Coteaux du Giennois.

There has been an unprecedented run of six good vintages in the Loire, even in those years hit by frost. Goodquality Loire Sauvignons can age for 20 years or more.

Jim Budd is the DWWA Regional Chair for the Loire