Haute Loire is an unofficial name for the wine-producing communes of the Loire Valley located upstream (South and east) from Touraine. It includes two of the Loire's most famous appellations - Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume - along with a number of lesser known appellations such as Orléans, Valencay, Quincy and Côtes du Forez. The concept of a "Haute Loire" sub-region is necessary because the appellations that make it up are not grouped by an administrative or historical region; their main commonality is their proximity to the Loire River. Most other French wine regions correspond closely to an administrative region or department (e.
g. Alsace, Burgundy, Champagne, Provence). There is indeed a department of the Loire, but it is hundreds of miles upstream from the heart of the Loire Vineyard. Ironically, it is home to two of the least known appellations in the Loire Valley: Côte Roannaise and Côtes du Forez.
Like nowhere else on the Loire, these two regions specialize in red and rosé wines made from Gamay. Their style of wine and their sandy, granitic soils mean that they have more in common with Beaujolais (just 50 km to the east) than with any other Loire appellation.
Rhône 2021 en primeur vintage rating: Northern Rhône: 2.5/5 Consistently excellent white wines, but reds very mixed due to severe frost and a mild, rainy season. Some are weak and green, others very good in a fresh and structured style. Southern Rhône: 2/5 Fresh, bright, intense white wines throughout the region. A hard frost reduced yields and produced a fragile harvest for reds. Quality is mixed; many wines lack ripeness, but there are some very good wines in a lean, fresh style with relativel ...
The wines from Chianti Rùfina, a unique, high-quality sub-region of the greater Chianti area, are overshadowed by those of its larger brother, Chianti Classico. Now, Rùfina producers are striving to change that with Terraelectae, a category of wines that will sit at the pinnacle of the Chianti Rùfina quality pyramid. Each producer – there are only about 20 of them in all of Chianti Rùfina – will be able to designate a single-vineyard wine made entirely from Sangiovese as ‘Terraelectae’ and will ...
Prices in the fine wine market have been increasing across all major regions in 2021, according to a new report by Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade. Its Liv-ex 1000 index, tracking some of the world’s most sought-after wines, rose by 2.4% in November to reach a new all-time high. The index, seen as an important bellwether for secondary market trading, has been rising consistently for about 18 months. ‘All previous records set in 2020 have been broken and surpassed in 2021, markin ...