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).
Sauvignon Gris is a grape variety that originated in France (South-West). It produces a variety of grape specially used for wine making. It is rare to find this grape to eat on our tables. This variety of grape is characterized by small bunches and small grapes. Sauvignon Gris can be found in many vineyards: South West, Languedoc & Roussillon, Cognac, Bordeaux, Loire Valley, Burgundy, Jura, Beaujolais, Armagnac, Provence & Corsica, Rhone Valley, Savoie & Bugey.
white wines from the region of Centre Loire go well with generally quite well with dishes of rich fish (salmon, tuna etc), vegetarian or poultry such as recipes of rice croquettes with salmon, quiche lorraine or ravioli with 2 cheeses.
For those unfamiliar with the Vino de Pago qualification, it was created in Spain in 2003 to certify singular estates (pagos) as Protected Denominations of Origin. While not a requisite, it’s generally implemented by individual wineries looking to gain protected status for a single vineyard site within their domain. This is the case for Abadía Retuerta which is an estate of 700ha, of which 180ha is planted to vine. While located within the Duero Valley, the site resides within the borders of Sar ...
Northern Rhône 2020 overall rating: 4.5/5 A reliably fresh, balanced and approachable vintage – a return to classicism after a series of powerful years. Excellent white wines. Northern Rhône 2020 red wine of the vintage: Domaine Rostaing, La Côte Brune, Côte-Rôtie 2020 Northern Rhône 2020 white wine of the vintage: Domaine JL Chave, Hermitage 2020 The main features of the year were drought, heat and a very early harvest. Thankfully there were heavy rains in October, November and December 2019 w ...
Château La Tour Carnet said it will expose an experimental vineyard to artificially higher temperatures to replicate some of the conditions the Bordeaux 2050 vintage may face due to climate change. It’s part of the ‘Oracle’ project at the fourth growth estate, which is among those in Bordeaux seeking to understand how well classic grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot can adapt to climate change. At La Tour Carnet, warming cables more commonly used in aeroplanes will be employed thi ...
