Loire Valley Wonderland Tasting
The Loire River, the longest in France, stretches out from deep within
Frances Massif Central meandering its way over a 1000km to the Atlantic Ocean.
For more than half that stretch, from Orleans to its mouth at the hip port city
of Nantes region, vineyards cling to its many twists and turns as well as the
verdant valleys beyond. This is a magical place; a gourmets delight with a long
history of wine making dating back to the 1st century AD.
Today it offers some of Frances most blissful drinking experiences as well as some of the world's longest lived wines. The incredible sweet and bortryis wines are unrivalled in their ageability, concentration and nervy core of acidity with both the reds and whites marked with a mineral streak and bracing freshness that stand them apart.
On the Atlantic coast the sea-spray infused and crisp wines of Muscadet offer the perfect pairing for fresh shucked oysters. The middle Loire is chenin country, and arguably the heart of the region. The maritime climate is tempered as you move further inland with the towns of Anjou, Saumur, Touraine and Vouvray offering an incredible array of sweet, dry and even sparkling wines based around the fames chenin blanc. Here in chenin is in unmatched in quality and refinement, benchmark examples for the world to enjoy.
The reds, based mainly around cabernet franc, take on a telltale wild herb and crunchy red fruit profile etched with fine wire-y tannins and wonderful freshness. The best version marry succulent red fruits, zippy acidity and beautifully wild but lifted aromatics.
As you head further inland the soils takes on the famous kimmeridgian limestone profile like those of Chablis and Champagne producing one of the countries most famous exports, Sancerre. The savignon blanc based wines in Sancerre are almost unrecognisable when compared to those of its 'new world' counterparts. Stained with a mineral piquancy and alive with energy the best versions are hauntingly complex with incredible depth.
The Loire is a one-stop-shop of incredible drinking options from red, white, rose, sparkling, dry and dessert style wines with incredible distinctive mineral bent. We have barely touched the surface here. If you were to choose one region, and one region only to drink from if stranded on a dessert island you would be happy several lifetimes over drinking from the Loire - it truly is a wonderland.
Today it offers some of Frances most blissful drinking experiences as well as some of the world's longest lived wines. The incredible sweet and bortryis wines are unrivalled in their ageability, concentration and nervy core of acidity with both the reds and whites marked with a mineral streak and bracing freshness that stand them apart.
On the Atlantic coast the sea-spray infused and crisp wines of Muscadet offer the perfect pairing for fresh shucked oysters. The middle Loire is chenin country, and arguably the heart of the region. The maritime climate is tempered as you move further inland with the towns of Anjou, Saumur, Touraine and Vouvray offering an incredible array of sweet, dry and even sparkling wines based around the fames chenin blanc. Here in chenin is in unmatched in quality and refinement, benchmark examples for the world to enjoy.
The reds, based mainly around cabernet franc, take on a telltale wild herb and crunchy red fruit profile etched with fine wire-y tannins and wonderful freshness. The best version marry succulent red fruits, zippy acidity and beautifully wild but lifted aromatics.
As you head further inland the soils takes on the famous kimmeridgian limestone profile like those of Chablis and Champagne producing one of the countries most famous exports, Sancerre. The savignon blanc based wines in Sancerre are almost unrecognisable when compared to those of its 'new world' counterparts. Stained with a mineral piquancy and alive with energy the best versions are hauntingly complex with incredible depth.
The Loire is a one-stop-shop of incredible drinking options from red, white, rose, sparkling, dry and dessert style wines with incredible distinctive mineral bent. We have barely touched the surface here. If you were to choose one region, and one region only to drink from if stranded on a dessert island you would be happy several lifetimes over drinking from the Loire - it truly is a wonderland.