The Loire is the longest river in France, rising in the highlands of south-east France (just 160 km from the Mediterranean Sea) and running north for 500 km, turning west near Orleans (which itself is 130 km south of Paris) and running another 500 km along the Loire Valley before reaching the Atlantic Ocean near Nantes.
The Loire Valley is the heart of France: a land of castles and gardens, where they claim to speak the purest French, and the home of two great white wine grapes: Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc. It is also where the Cabernet Franc and the lesser-known Melon de Bourgogne wine grapes make some terrific standalone reds and rose wines and where the third-largest quantity of sparkling wines in France (after the Champagne and Alsace regions) is produced.
Sauvignon Blanc is a green-skinned grape variety that produces white wines which are aromatic, crisp (dry) and light-bodied and which go well with seafood and salads of all types. In the Loire these wines come from the Eastern reaches of the river: from around the town of Sancerre, where the eponymous wine has great acidity and minerality and characteristic grapefruit and gooseberry aromas, and the town of Pouilly-sur-Loire (across the river), whose Pouilly Fume ("poey fumey") wines are richer and more full-bodied and with smoky, gunflint notes. The Henri Bourgeois Sancerre and Pouilly Fume (both about Rs 2,600 in Bangalore) are typical representatives, from one of the top wineries in the area.
Further down the river, the Anjou-Saumur region is known for the Rose d 'Anjou Rose' wines made from Cabernet Franc, as well as the large quantities of sparkling wines made largely from Chenin Blanc. Indian consumers may be familiar with Bouvet-Ladubay, which Vijay Mallya acquired in 2007 from Tattinger, and whose Rose and sparkling wines are widely distributed (the B-L Saumur Blanc at Rs 1,600 in Bangalore is a good alternative to Champagnes priced twice as high).
Still further down the river comes the region of Touraine, where one gets the white wine called Vouvray, made only from Chenin Blanc, as well as Chinon - red and rose wines made from Cabernet Franc. Actually Chenin Blanc is one of the most versatile, as well as most frustrating of grapes: versatile since it can be used to produce wines that range from sparkling, dry white, medium-dry white, and sweet white to late-harvest white; frustrating, because quality varies widely with each vintage. Try the Guy Saget Vouvray (Rs 1,690 in Bangalore), made in "an off-dry style with enticing flavours of honey, melon, and peach along with a hint of almond."
Lastly, there's the region of Muscadet, where the Loire empties out into the Atlantic, and where the unfamiliar Melon de Bourgogne grape gives white wines that are "fresh, crisp, and lively" and which represent one of the world's great partnerships with fish and seafood! Interestingly, this grape came to this area after frost wiped out vineyards in 1709, which were then replanted with the one grape found most resistant to this localised weather problem. The only such wine available in India is the Guy Saget Muscadet et Sevres et Maine (Rs 1,344 in Bangalore).
Wines I've been drinking: French, naturally, but a 'garagiste' top-quality wine, the Bad Boy Bordeaux from Recolte Thunevin: Jean Luc was called the 'black sheep' of Bordeaux by Robert Parker for defying convention in the 1980s - and responded by bringing out this wine with a black sheep on the label!
Made primarily from Merlot, this 88-point wine (12 months in new French oak) has intense coffee bean, fruit, and toasty aromas, velvety tannins, a full-bodied mouth-feel, and a nice medium finish. While a bit pricy at Rs 3,600 in Bangalore, it is a terrific foil for other Bordeaux wines that come at prices many times higher. Sante!
The Loire Valley is the heart of France: a land of castles and gardens, where they claim to speak the purest French, and the home of two great white wine grapes: Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc. It is also where the Cabernet Franc and the lesser-known Melon de Bourgogne wine grapes make some terrific standalone reds and rose wines and where the third-largest quantity of sparkling wines in France (after the Champagne and Alsace regions) is produced.
Sauvignon Blanc is a green-skinned grape variety that produces white wines which are aromatic, crisp (dry) and light-bodied and which go well with seafood and salads of all types. In the Loire these wines come from the Eastern reaches of the river: from around the town of Sancerre, where the eponymous wine has great acidity and minerality and characteristic grapefruit and gooseberry aromas, and the town of Pouilly-sur-Loire (across the river), whose Pouilly Fume ("poey fumey") wines are richer and more full-bodied and with smoky, gunflint notes. The Henri Bourgeois Sancerre and Pouilly Fume (both about Rs 2,600 in Bangalore) are typical representatives, from one of the top wineries in the area.
Further down the river, the Anjou-Saumur region is known for the Rose d 'Anjou Rose' wines made from Cabernet Franc, as well as the large quantities of sparkling wines made largely from Chenin Blanc. Indian consumers may be familiar with Bouvet-Ladubay, which Vijay Mallya acquired in 2007 from Tattinger, and whose Rose and sparkling wines are widely distributed (the B-L Saumur Blanc at Rs 1,600 in Bangalore is a good alternative to Champagnes priced twice as high).
Still further down the river comes the region of Touraine, where one gets the white wine called Vouvray, made only from Chenin Blanc, as well as Chinon - red and rose wines made from Cabernet Franc. Actually Chenin Blanc is one of the most versatile, as well as most frustrating of grapes: versatile since it can be used to produce wines that range from sparkling, dry white, medium-dry white, and sweet white to late-harvest white; frustrating, because quality varies widely with each vintage. Try the Guy Saget Vouvray (Rs 1,690 in Bangalore), made in "an off-dry style with enticing flavours of honey, melon, and peach along with a hint of almond."
Lastly, there's the region of Muscadet, where the Loire empties out into the Atlantic, and where the unfamiliar Melon de Bourgogne grape gives white wines that are "fresh, crisp, and lively" and which represent one of the world's great partnerships with fish and seafood! Interestingly, this grape came to this area after frost wiped out vineyards in 1709, which were then replanted with the one grape found most resistant to this localised weather problem. The only such wine available in India is the Guy Saget Muscadet et Sevres et Maine (Rs 1,344 in Bangalore).
Wines I've been drinking: French, naturally, but a 'garagiste' top-quality wine, the Bad Boy Bordeaux from Recolte Thunevin: Jean Luc was called the 'black sheep' of Bordeaux by Robert Parker for defying convention in the 1980s - and responded by bringing out this wine with a black sheep on the label!
Made primarily from Merlot, this 88-point wine (12 months in new French oak) has intense coffee bean, fruit, and toasty aromas, velvety tannins, a full-bodied mouth-feel, and a nice medium finish. While a bit pricy at Rs 3,600 in Bangalore, it is a terrific foil for other Bordeaux wines that come at prices many times higher. Sante!
Alok Chandra is a Bangalore-based wine consultant