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.
Decanter attended Tesco’s spring/summer 2022 portfolio tasting at the end of April where over 140 wines were on show, 38 of which are new to the range. In anticipation of the full list of top buys, to follow soon, we’ve rounded up a few of our favourites to get you in the mood for spring. Tesco’s wine buying team highlighted 24 wines as their must-try buys, and five of these have featured in our initial spring roundup below. We think they showcase the diversity of the Tesco range and the value t ...
Starting with the 2021 vintage, non-late harvest Alsace Riesling must be ‘dry’, as defined by EU regulations, according to a proposed decree agreed by a two-thirds majority of the Alsace Winegrowers’ Association (AVA). Winemakers backed the plan at a vote in Colmar last week, although it requires approval from France’s appellation body, INAO. The move comes in addition to the introduction of a standardised way of communicating sweetness levels on Alsace AOC still wines. As per EU rul ...
A rare bottle of Gordon & MacPhail’s Glen Grant 72-year-old whisky has broken its own previous auction world record in a sale at Bonham’s Hong Kong on 20 May. The single bottle sold for HK$937,500 (US$120,000/£95,403) including buyer’s premium. This figure is more than double the price a bottle of the same whisky sold for at a Bonham’s Hong Kong sale in January 2021 (HK$421,600). Distilled by Speyside producer Glen Grant in 1948, the rare single malt was created by independent Scotch bottl ...
