Much like Bordeaux, the Loire Valley was part of the dowry the beautiful, talented and very rich Eleanor of Acquitaine brought to England when she married Henry Plantagenet in the 12th century. She was responsible for jump starting the French wine trade in England and spent a number of her sunset years in a nearby nunnery, Fauntevraud, seeing that young women were taught to read and write. One of her five sons, Richard the Lion-hearted was buried there rather than a cathedral in England. But that’s an interesting tale for another time.
The Loire River is the country’s longest river, running from the middle of France west to the Atlantic Ocean. Along the river and its four tributaries are captivating castles once majestic and sumptuous, which former French and English kings, queens, mistresses, dukes and cardinals had built and called home.
In these castles, historic Treaties and Edicts were written and signed. At Chinon, Charles VII and fourteen year old Joan of Arc met and discussed the state of the nation, Ussé Castle was the inspiration for the fairytale of Sleeping Beauty and Villandry and Azay-le-Rideau have the most stunning formal gardens with the requisite attending army of gardeners. The area is a must for your bucket list.
This beautiful rolling river valley in northwest France is also home to some of the world’s most famous white wines. Vineyards are planted near villages with enchanting names like Manetou-Salon, Pouilly Fumé, Anjou, Coteaux de Layon, Bonnezeaux, Sancerre and Vouvray. And none of these famous vineyards are planted to Chardonnay.
With the east west orientation of the river, the Atlantic Ocean clearly has an effect on the quality of the region’s wines—more so than Bordeaux, located just south of the Loire Valley. In cool vintages, it takes longer to develop the grape sugars needed to balance the naturally high acidity in these grapes.
The Loire Valley has three distinct wine regions, the Pays Nantais on the western end, the middle Loire and the upper Loire. The upper Loire is also known as the Central Vineyards because they’re centrally located in France.
Allowed white grapes in this valley are Melon de Bourgogne (Muscadet), Chenin Blanc, and Sauvignon Blanc, which account for more than half of the wine from this region. Approved red grapes are the native Grolleau, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir and Gamay.
Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc are the two most widely planted grapes. Sauvignon Blanc is grown in the Central Vineyards from around the villages of Pouilly Fumé, Quincy, Menetou-Salon and Sancerre. Chenin Blanc is grown in the middle Loire’s Touraine and Anjou-Saumur regions around the villages of Vouvray, Montlouis sur Loire, Saumur and Coteaux de Layon.
Winemaking in the valley is generally done without barrel ageing or malolactic fermentation. The wines have enough natural acidity to be great food wines. Chaptalization is permitted here. This winemaking technique of adding sugar to the fermenting wine helps compensate for the lack of grape sugars that balance the high acidity in difficult years.
For red wines, there’s other techniques used such as extended skin maceration for more color, flavor and tannins. Pinot Noir both in a red and rosé styles are lighter in color and flavor than found in other parts of the wine world. Cabernet Franc is also lighter in color with more herbaceous aromas and flavors. In riper vintages, Loire reds will develop more fruit aromas and flavors and lose that herby component.
Once considered the quintessential white restaurant wine, Sancerre is considered among the finest location in the world to grow Sauvignon Blanc. Here the soil plays a big part in flavor development. It’s limestone with oyster traces and siliceous soil accounts for the wonderful flinty aromas and flavors.
During cool vintages, Sauvignon Blanc wines are lighter in color, less fruity and have a more pronounced herbaceous component. This style makes the wine the perfect companion to salads especially with goat cheese, salmon pate, poached white fish with buerré blanc, Oysters Rockefeller and other delectable shellfish recipes whether steamed, fried, grilled, stewed or raw.
Sancerre reds and rosés are made from the Pinot Noir grape. These wines are lighter in style than other regions where Pinot Noir is made. Lighter fare such as salads with smoked trout, chicken or aged goat cheese would make a perfect pairing.
Oddly enough, New Zealand is the only other wine region to produce Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc in the same region.
Chenin Blanc with its crisp acidity, is easily one of the most food-friendly wines of the world. It’s the classic brunch wine in that it pairs well with everything on the buffet. The range is similar to Riesling; it can be dry and austere to rich and sweet as well as everything in between. It can be still and it can be sparkling.
Chenin Blanc reaches its most characteristic expression in the Anjou-Saumur and Touraine regions in the middle Loire Valley. Vouvray is the world’s most popular Chenin Blanc but Anjou, Saumur and Savenniéres produce great ones too.
Quarts de Chaume, Bonnezeaux and Coteaux du Layon all produce stunning desert wines from the Chenin Blanc grape. Saumur’s most important wine is Saumur Mousseux, a well-priced sparkling made from Chenin Blanc.
In the Pays Nantais region of the Loire Valley, the city of Nantes is surrounded by vineyards planted to the Melon de Bourgogne grape. Muscadet Sevre et Maine covers the area between the Maine and Sevre rivers, tributaries of the Loire river. Muscadet Sur Lie is produced by aging the wine on the spent yeast cells which adds body and complexity to this light bodied wine whose reputation with oysters is classic.
A little known French gastronome once observed, “Cuisine is best when things taste like themselves. “ That brings Muscadet with oysters, Sancerre with Chevre and Vouvray with scallops to mind. And I know there is no better time to sample the wines of the Loire than when spring and summer cuisines converge. Cheers!
