No place like the Loire Valley
WINE STYLES cover the gamut in this French region with more than a dozen grape varieties
Okay, desert island question: If you could only drink wines f rom one region, and had to pay for them, too, what would it be?
For me, while I would miss my Barolos and my German riesling, I would probably pick the Loire Valley.
Why? How about the selection of wine styles that cover the gamut — from sparkling to sweet, dry whites that range from dry and crisp to seductively rich. Yes, the gamut of reds leans to the side of delicate and fruity, which is right up my alley, but there is no shortage of extremely flavourful red wines either. And as a major plus, the wines are relatively inexpensive. Aside from the sweet wines, the vast majority can be purchased at the SAQ for under $25, and many under $20.
While there has been a long history of producing bulk, nondescript wines, the Loire has seen a bit of a renaissance happen, particularly over the past 10 years — more artisanal wineries, more organic agriculture, smaller yields, riper grapes. I have been waiting for a long time to visit the region, so when I was invited by the Inter-profession de Vins de Loire, who handle the marketing and promotion of Loire wines, I jumped at the chance.
What it is
The Loire Valley is divided up into three general growing areas that are largely differentiated by the grapes that are grown. It’s one of the cooler growing areas of France and has a relatively short growing season, so it makes sense that the grapes tend to be more for white wine. The Loire region is No. 1 in terms of white wine production in France.
Within the 87 appellations and vin de pays that make up the Loire Valley, one can find more than a dozen grape varieties — from more familiar grapes such as chardonnay and gamay to those with obscure names like romorantin and pineau d’Aunis. But as you move from the mouth of the Atlantic eastward, five grapes reign supreme, and each in their own way are archetypes, unique in their expression.
To the west, where the Loire river flows into the Atlantic Ocean, is the Pays Nantais, and the grape melon de Bourgogne. To the far east of the region is the Centre-Loire — it is called Centre-Loire because it is the geographic centre of France. It’s home to such appellations as Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé. Aside from being home to what many consider the archetype of sauvignon blanc grape, it also produces its fair share of pint noir.
Sandwiched between the two, the regions of Anjou, Saumur and Touraine collectively make up the region of the middle Loire. This is where we find the biggest mixed bag of wine styles, but whether sparkling, still or sweet, the vast majority are made with chenin blanc for white, and cabernet franc for red.
While the distance from Nantes in the west to Sancerre in the east is less than 400 kilometres, there is a logic to why each region has its own grapes.
Without even getting into the soil types, just looking at the different climates can explain a lot.
The temperate oceanic climate of Muscadet is perfect for melon, as it doesn’t like too much heat. Sauvignon blanc is ideal for the continental climate of the Centre-Loire as it can resist the below-zero temper- atures during winter, as well as get the heat it needs during the summer to become fully ripe. It buds late and ripens early, so is ideal for the short growing season. And for chenin blanc, it’s too humid in the west, and the growing season is not long enough in the east to fully ripen.
So which region is best for you? This week and next, I will explain a bit about each. There is a lot of diversity, so I will start with perhaps the easiest to understand, and where I started my trip — the Centre-Loire.
Sauvignon Central and light-styled pinot noir
While many point to New Zealand these days when they think about sauvignon blanc, most point to the Centre-Loire, and specifically the appellations of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, as the archetypal expressions of the grape. That’s Pouilly-Fumé and not Pouilly-Fuissé, which is in Burgundy.
However, before the phylloxera crisis, that microscopic root eating aphid that destroyed much of the vineyards of Europe at the turn of the 20th century, there were more red vines than white in the region.
Sauvignon blanc was most prob- ably imported from Bordeaux, and gradually gained the upper hand until becoming the only white grape of the region.
But even as it became apparent that the grape worked magnificently in the region, most grape growers sold their wines as bulk and continued growing cereal, raising goats and other bucolic endeavours to make ends meets. I visited five wineries while I was there, and the owners were either the first or second generation to be able to make a living just making wine.
So what’s so special about the sauvignon? As I mentioned, the continental climate is ideal for this grape that requires a short, but intense growing season. But the secret is in the soil. The majority of the area has three soil types: chalky soils called “caillottes,” Kimmeridgian soils that are a mix of limestone and clay and similar to Chablis, and a flinty soil called silex.
The caillotte soils cover much of the western part of the appellations, including the other CentreLoire appellations of Menetou-Salon, Quincy and Reuilly. From what I tasted, these wines tend to the classic Loire sauvignon expression — quite aromatic, citrus notes, and when there is more clay, can have a weightier mouth feel. They also show that grassy herbaceous note, as opposed to the more asparaguslike greenness of New Zealand.
The Kimmeridgian soils, especially around the village of Chavignol, produce wines of greater power and opulence with a distinct minerality.
And for the rarest soil type, silex, Jean-Laurent Vacheron of Domaine Vacheron told me that “You get it all — citrus and white fruits, floral notes and a lot of structure.”
But the reality is, we are talking shades of grey. I would be hard pressed to tell the real difference in a blind tasting between Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé.
The biggest difference is that some winemakers, like Alphonse Mellot, make their wines in oak barrels, which, aside from adding some extra spice, makes them less overtly acidic.
For the reds, the pinot noirs tend to be much lighter than you would expect out of Burgundy. I often refer to them as the white wine lover’s red wine.
But there are some great examples of more powerful pinot noirs, such as La Belle Dame from Vacheron and La Moussière from Alphonse Mellot.