6.0 Loire Valley copied to L4.3 WoW Flashcards
Which wine region follows the longest river in France?
The Loire Valley
What is the climate in the Loire Valley?
Cool climate
What are the classic grapes of the Loire Valley?
- Chenin Blanc
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Muscadet
- Cabernet Franc
- Gamay
What are the four subregions of The Loire Valley?
Going downstream
Central Vineyards, Touraine, Anjou-Saumur and the Nantais
What is the Vin de Pays that covers the Loire?
Vin de Pays du Val de Loire it covers the whole region, over 13 départements
Which is the smallest of the four Loire Valley sub regions?
Central Vineyards
In which Loire subregion will you find Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé?
The Central Vineyards
What is the climate in Central Vineyards, The Loire
Akin to Burgundy, the climate is distinctly continental with severe winters and hot summers.
Summer hails and spring frosts are recurrent problems.
What are the biggest climate problems in The Central Vineyards?
Summer hails and spring frosts are recurrent problems
Which AC arguable makes the finest dry white wines of the Loire Valley?
Sancerre AC in Central Vineyards
How many villages are in Sancerre AC?
15 villages in very chalky soil rich in marine fossils
How big are vineyard holdings in the Central Vineyards of the Loire Valley?
Vineyard holdings are small and generally divided into minute parcels of vines
What is Sancerre?
- Most Sancerre is white, high in acidity and made from Sauvignon Blanc although 20% of the production is red or rose and made from Pinot Noir.
- Traditionally it used to be fermented in 600 litre wooden casks but temperature controlled stainless steel vats are now the norm.
- It shares with Marlborough Sauvignon a distinctive herbaceous aroma (elderflower or cat’s pee) though this is increasing regarded as a sign of grapes picked before ripeness.
- Certain individual villages such as Chavigbol and vineyards such as Les Monts Damnés have created a high reputation for wines that display a smoked minerality and are able to evolve in bottle, though in most cases Sancerre is not a wine for aging
- Higher prices due to limited area and great demand has enabled massive investment into vineyards and wineries ensuring the quality of wine even in more challenges vintages
Approximately 20% of production in Sancerre, Central Vineyards, The Loire is made from which grape?
Pinot Noir, and made into red and rose.
The remaining 80% is white from Sauvignon Blanc
What distinctive characters do the wines from villages such as Chavignol and vineyards like Les Monts Damnés in Central Vineyards?
A smoky minerality and the ability to evolve in bottle
What has allows the massive investment in vineyards and wineries in Central Vineyards, The Loire and what has been the impact?
The high prices commanded due to huge popularity and limited area of the vineyards.
The investment into vineyards and wineries has ensuring a high quality even in more challenging vintages. Only adding to the allure.
Which AC sits on the opposite side of the Loire to Sancerre?
Pouilly-Fumé AC
Which AC sits on the opposite side of the Loire river to Pouilly-Fumé AC?
Sancerre AC
What is the different between Sauvignon Blanc from Sancerre and SB from Pouilly-Fumé?
Pouilly-Fumé are typically fruitier and less aggressively herbaceous than Sancerre.
Can red wines be made in Pouilly-Fumé?
No it is a white appellation only.
Sauvignon Blanc is king
Where a moderately priced alternative to Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé in the Loire?
Menetou-Salon AC, the neighbouring appellation to the West of Sancerre
Where is Touraine?
In the Loire Valley
Half way between Muscadet and Sancerre
200 km from the sea
Centered on the city of Tours
What is the climate in Touraine?
Cold winter/warm summer continental climate not not as extreme as the Central Vineyard area.
Relatively early spring warmth but avoiding high temperatures and drought of the continental summers
200 km from the sea and with plenty of rivers
What is Touraine AC?
A generic appellation in the Loire that stretches has along the flint, sand and limestone banks of the Loire and Cher rivers.
It’s red wines are mostly Cabernet Franc, Gamay and Malbec
Dry whites are made from Sauvignon (or rarely Chenin Blanc)
These often appear under a varietal label I.e Sauvignon de Touraine or Gamay de Touraine
What is grape is used in Vouvray AC?
Vouvray AC wine is always white and made from Chenin Blanc
It can appear in a full range of styles, still, pétillant and sparking - from dry to lusciously sweet
When would the vintage in Vouvray be among the latest in France?
When there is noble rot in the vineyards
What is ‘tuffeau’?
The Loire limestone.
Many growers have their cellars cut into the cliffs of soft tuffeau that are a feature of both banks of the river here.
What soil is there in Vouvray?
Well draining limestone soils, rich in calcium and marine fossils
Name five reasons why the chalky limestone soil in Vouvray a good thing for vines?
- This soil is full of marine creatures
- It is very porous allowing the vines to develop large root systems
- Good drainage, allows the vine’s water needs to be met without flooding the roots or bloating the grapes
- High calcium content entailed the grapes to retain their acidity as they ripen
Why do better producers in Loire specifically pick in successive tris, passing through each vineyard several times to harvest grapes at full ripeness while eliminating any bunches that have started to rot?
A peculiarity of Chenin Blanc (which is grown in Touraine and Anjou-Saumur) is that it is common for grapes within the same bunch to reach different levels of ripeness
What soil does Chenin Blanc grow best on?
Limestone soils
Is Chenin to be drunk young or can it age?
Its natural acidity means it ages well.
Although the trend towards harvesting at full ripeness to produce richer more complex wines that should be enjoying in the first 10 years
What is made in Chinon AC, Touraine, Loire?
Almost entirely red wine production of Cabernet Franc, some rosé made and 2% Chenin Blanc grown
Where are the finest wines from in Chinon AC?
The hillside slopes where the soil is predominantly limestone
Lighter, fruitier wines come from the sandy soils of the valleys of the River Vienne, 15 km west of Chinon.
Fuller bodied with firm tannins wines come from the plateau to the north, where the soils have more clay and gravel
Which grape grown in Chinon AC, Bourgueil AC and Saint Nicholas de Bourgeuil AC flowers and ripens earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon and is therefore better suited to the marginal climate?
Cabernet Franc
What is the climate of Anjou-Saumur?
Continental x Maritime, with a warmer damper winter than in the east leading to an early spring and a longer, hotter growing season.
Temperatures can reach 40•C in summer
Drier and warmer than the Nantais with all day sun and facing the prevailing winds
What grapes does Saumur AC use?
Chenin Blanc
Cabernet Franc
What grape used to make rose is only found in Anjou?
Grolleau
Where is the best local red wines made from Cabernet Franc in Anjou-Saumur?
Saumur-Champigny AC
The current style is rich, supple, fruity and fresh
What is grown in Anjou AC?
This generic appellation covers red, white and rosé wines
Broad range of varieties but Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc are the two main grapes.
The best wines are white and made from Chenin Blanc
Grolleau (Groslot) only found in Anjou is a red grape with high yields used for Rosé
What are the three appellations for rosé wines in Anjou-Saumur?
- Cabernet d’Anjou AC
Highest Quality
Always medium sweet
A blend of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon - Rosé d’Anjou AC
Less sweet
Made from a blend of Grolleau, Cabernet Franc and/or Gamay - Rosé de Loire AC (can also be produced outside the Anjou area)
Always dry
Must have a minimum of 30% Cabernet grapes in the blend
What is the highest quality rosé AC in Anjou-Saumur?
Cabernet d’Anjou
Medium sweet in style
Blend of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon
Which is the dry rosé appellation in Anjou-Saumur?
Rosé de Loire AC
Wines are always dry
Must have a minimum of 30% Cabernet grapes in the blend
What is the traditional style of the best wines of Anjou-Saumur?
White
Made from Chenin Blanc
Relatively high acidity
Balanced by residual sugar (as botrytised develops well in the sheltered valleys, particularly Côteaux de Layon AC)
What are the wines of Côteaux du Layon AC in Anjou-Saumur known for?
Sweet wines
Fresh fruit character
Mouth watering acidity
Reminiscent of the sweeter wines of Germany with some of the body and alcohol of Sauternes)
Pickers may pass through the vines on a number of occasions to pick all the grapes
The two most favoured sites are Quarts de Chaume AC and Bonnezeaux AC
What is grown in Savennières?
Chenin Blanc
Air circulation around the well exposed vineyards impedes the development of Chenin Blanc but enables late harvest Chenin Blanc grapes to be used for full bodied, dry wines of exceptional quality.
These wines can be austere when young due to high acidity but as with fine Vouvray van build layers of honey and smoky mineral flavours as they evolve over decades in bottle.
There is a move to softer, riper wines that are enjoyable young while retaining the famous mineral complexity.
What is the main wine of the Nantais region?
Muscadet
Which is the only grape variety is permitted for the production of Muscadet?
Melon Blanc or Muscadet
What is Muscadet sur Lie?
A speciality from the Nantais in the Loire.
The wine is bottled direct from cask or tank in the spring following vintage, having spent the winter on its lees (life is the French for Lees)
Usually domain bottled
Wine has been handled very little should retain its delicacy and freshness and may have lazy bubbles beading the rum of the glass
Contact with its lees gives it more body and a slightly yeasty character
What is Melon Blanc? (Melon de Borgogne)
Also known as Muscadet.
White grape
Neutral variety
Best wines disposal attractive green apple or grassy aromas
It’s understated character makes it a versatile food friendly wine.
It ripens early and its frost resistance suits the marginal climate of the Nantais, The Loire
Why did the early wine trade thrive in the Loire?
Due to river transportation on the Loire and access to the Atlantic
What two historical events/inventions lead to a decline of wine trade in the Loire?
The French Revolution
Modern transportation
When did wine trade in Loire start to recover post declines caused by The French Revolution and modern transportation?
After the Second World War
What was the historical focus of wine sales post World War II?
Main focus was on local sales, with just a few wines of interest for export
What cut production of Muscadet in the Loire in 1991?
Severe frosts
What has enabled prices to rise and producers to invest in improving quality in the vineyard and cellar in the Loire?
The success of Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé and the corresponding rise in prices