The Loire Valley is a key wine region in western France. It follows the course of the Loire River on its Long journey through the heart of France, from the inland hills of the Auvergne to the plains of the French Atlantic coast near Nantes (Muscadet country). Important in terms of quantity and quality, the region produces large quantities (about 4 million h/l each year) of everyday wines, as well as some of France's greatest wines. Diversity is another of the region's major assets; the styles of wine produced here range from the light, tangy Muscadet to the Sweet, honeyed Bonnezeaux, the Sparkling whites of Vouvray and the juicy, Tannic reds of Chinon and Saumur.
It's quite telling that this brief overview of the region's wines doesn't even mention the Loire Valley's two most famous wines - Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume. White wines are clearly the strong point of the Loire Valley and represent the vast majority of production. A significant proportion of these are produced under PGI appellations, most commonly the IGP Loire (formerly Vin de Pays du Jardin de la France), which covers the whole region. The main white Grape varieties used for the production of white wines in the Loire Valley are Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Melon de Bourgogne and, more popular than the traditional, Chardonnay.
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.
white wines from the region of Loire Valley go well with generally quite well with dishes of rich fish (salmon, tuna etc), vegetarian or poultry such as recipes of papillotes of simple salmon steaks, zucchini quiche or coconut chicken curry in thermomix.
On the nose in the region of Loire Valley often reveals types of flavors of cream, kiwi or green herbs and sometimes also flavors of cat's pee, lemon grass or lemon curd. In the mouth in the region of Loire Valley is a with a nice freshness.
At a lunch in Brussels, the 2021 PFV ‘Family is Sustainability’ prize was presented to Jan Strick and his son Matthijs of Maison Bernard, who triumphed over more than 100 applicants from around the world to win the €100,000 (£84,000) award. ‘Selection was difficult,’ said Matthieu Perrin, president of the PFV, ‘but ultimately the jury felt that Maison Bernard is a brilliant example of exquisite handicraft and the maintenance of an ancient artisanal tradition in family hands, exactly as we fight ...
The unnamed collector is set to receive 440 bottles of single malt in total from ‘Cask No. 3’ – 88 each year over the next five years, giving her a vertical series of 1975 Ardbegs bottled at 46, 47, 48, 49 and 50 years old by 2026. The sum paid equates to more than £36,000 per bottle, and is more than 16 times the record amount paid at auction for a single cask of whisky – set in April this year, when a private buyer from the US paid £915,500 (hammer price) for a 1988 Macallan cask. However, pri ...
It’s expected the Burgundy 2022 harvest will be bigger than the region’s five-year average, France’s agriculture ministry said this month, also noting the healthy state of vineyards in the area. Final figures on yields are not yet available, but suggestions the 2022 harvest could represent a rebound from the historically low 2021 crop could be welcome among wine lovers and producers alike. This week, it was also announced that the 162nd Hospices de Beaune auction, co-hosted by ...
