The Centre-Loire sub-region is located in the Loire Valley region, southeast of the Paris Basin. Its surface area is difficult to determine and the vineyards are made up of plots that vary in Size and are isolated, but also of plots of several hundred hectares. On a limestone base, the Centre-Loire has at least four types of soil: the terres blanches, Deep brown calcareous soils, which give the wines firmness, vivacity and fullness; the caillotes, Hard limestone soils, which give the wines pleasure, tenderness in their youth and a characteristic fruitiness; the grillotes, of friable limestone from which the wines take notes of candied fruits and honey; and the chailloux, siliceous with fine and coarse elements (clays, silts and sands, gravels, and pebbles), giving the wines firmness, persistent aromas, a Spicy nuance and a note of gunflint The caillotes and grillottes are shallow, stony soils, which Warm up quickly in the spring and have good rainwater Runoff, resulting in early ripening of the grapes for the production of fine, Soft, fruity wines. The semi-continental climate with microclimatic variations is ideal for the Sauvignon grape variety which gives white wines a rare harmony and perfection, and also ideal for the Pinot Noir which produces little known but no less surprising red wines.
The Centre-Loire region has nine appellations but is particularly well known for its AOC Sancerre, Quincy, Reuilly and Menetou-Salon. These appellations include those from the Auvergne vineyards (Saint-Pourçain, Côte-Roannaise and Côtes-du-Forez).
Cabernet Franc is one of the oldest red grape varieties in Bordeaux. The Libourne region is its terroir where it develops best. The terroirs of Saint-Emilion and Fronsac allow it to mature and develop its best range of aromas. It is also the majority in many blends. The very famous Château Cheval Blanc, for example, uses 60% Cabernet Franc. The wines produced with Cabernet Franc are medium in colour with fine tannins and subtle aromas of small red fruits and spices. When blended with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, it brings complexity and a bouquet of aromas to the wine. It produces fruity wines that can be drunk quite quickly, but whose great vintages can be kept for a long time. It is an earlier grape variety than Cabernet Sauvignon, which means that it is planted as far north as the Loire Valley. In Anjou, it is also used to make sweet rosé wines. Cabernet Franc is now used in some twenty countries in Europe and throughout the world.
pink wines from the region of Centre Loire go well with generally quite well with dishes of beef, lamb or spicy food such as recipes of beef tagine with prunes and almonds, saddle of lamb stuffed with chicken breast and basil or pasta shells.
On the nose in the region of Centre Loire often reveals types of flavors of strawberries, red fruit or pear and sometimes also flavors of earth, tree fruit or citrus fruit.
Frost returned to French vineyards early this month as France recorded its coldest April night since 1947. Temperatures plunged to minus nine degrees Celsius in some parts of the Champagne region on the night between 3 and 4 April, with minus seven reported in areas around Bordeaux and minus six in Chablis. Some winemakers lit candles and fires between vineyard rows to help protect young buds. Yet while scenes were reminiscent of the devastating frosts that struck French vineyards in April 2021, ...
Surely there has been no greater ambassador for Bordeaux and its wines than Jean-Michel Cazes (1935-2023), who has died at the age of 88 after a lengthy illness. He never believed the region, however prestigious, should rest on its laurels, and he was foremost among those who roamed the world promoting its wines and its culture. Home base for Cazes was Château Lynch-Bages, fifth classified growth in Pauillac. It had been acquired by the family in 1939, and they also owned Ormes de Pez in St-Este ...
In addition to the fine wine auctions reported on previously by Decanter, further initiatives have been set up to raise money for those in crisis. UK-based wine importer Les Caves de Pyrene has been helping to relocate families fleeing from war-torn Ukraine and settle them in safe havens across Europe, in accommodation provided by the importer’s European winemakers. To help cover the logistical costs of relocating families, the importer has announced it will hold a fundraising auction and charit ...
