6.0 The Loire Valley Flashcards
1
Q
Working east from the coast what are the 4 key regions of the Loire Valley?
A
Nantais
Anjou-Saumur
Touraine
Central Vineyards
2
Q
Fill in the blanks
A
3
Q
Climate and soils of Pays Nantais?
A
Climate and Soils:
- Cool maritime - Atlantic
- Cool spring (frost in spite of ocean)
- managed with wind machines, heaters, burning straw bales
- Warm humid summer (rot risk)
- Rain all year
- risk: flowering/ Fruit set/ disease pressure/Harvest
- Well drained soils: offset the amount of rain
4
Q
What are the main varieties grown in Pays Nantais
A
Melon (more than 60% plantings)
- Principal variety in Pays Nantais
- Hardy, suits cool climate
- Buds early (frost), ripens early
- high yields
- Resistant to P MD
- Tight bunches - susceptible to D MD; BBR - (humidity)
- Character
- h acid; l body; l alc, low int Green apple,
- G/VG; inexp - mid price
- Wines sometimes made “sur lie” - on the lees - detail under winemaking
Folle Blanche:
- Produces acidic & neutral wines
5
Q
What is the IGP of the Loire Valley?
A
Val de Loire IGP
6
Q
What viticultural practices are needed in Pays Nantais to get good fruit?
A
- Humid! - spray to prevent fungal disease
- Marginal climate for ripeness!
- improved canopy management - leaf removal..
- to get exposure ripeness
- to prevent risk of fungal disease;
- caution - sunburn
- improved canopy management - leaf removal..
- Attention paid to ripeness of skin & pips in setting harvest date
- Hot years can see sugar levels too high prior to skin/seed ripeness
7
Q
What 4 appellations of Nantais are based on Melon de Bourgogne?
A
Apppellation and yield/ha
- Muscadet AOC (may incl 10% CH) /70hl)
- Muscadet de Sevre et Maine AOC (largest) (55hl)
- Musc SeM “Village” (45hl) e.g. Clisson, Pallet. (lees 18-24m)
- Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire AOC (55hl)
- Muscadet Cotes de Grandlieu AOC (55hl)
Character
- Typically dry low int green apple, grassy, hi acid, light body
- acc/good, inexp
- “sur lie” incl on label = resting on the fine lees over the winter, bottle between March and November in year post harvest - attempt to add body and complexity
Muscadet Cru Communaux (defined area added to AOC label)
- Clisson; Gorges; Le Pallet (there are 10 in total!)
- Name can be appended on label if all grapes from this area
- Yield drops to 45hl;
- Le Pallet - 18m lees;
- Clisson, Gorges 24m lees
- add lees ageing makes wines rounder, more complex, longer finish
- Label cannot say sur lie - period beyond allowed date
8
Q
Winemaking techniques for Muscadet?
A
Winemaking:
- Chaptalisation up to 12% pot abv (needed in cooler years)
- Fermented; aged in large, shallow underground, glass-lined concrete/SS vats
- Aim to keep wine neutral as possible
- Typically Malo C avoided; preserve acid
- To lift profile of Muscadet experimentation with:
- skin contact & Ferment in barrel/amphora/concrete egg
“Sur lie” Wines
- Technique is typical in Pays Nantais
- It gives body to what is otherwise a very light body wine
- After fermentation
- one racking off gross lees
- after the wine stays in contact with fine lees over winter and until bottled
- ageing on lees retains freshness of wine
- lees may cause retention of slight amount of CO2, part of the style of these wines.
-
must be bottled between 1 March, 30 Nov year folowing harvest and at the winery in which they were made
- This means negociants can only buy grapes/must/bottled wine - not wine tb aged sur lie.
9
Q
What is the other name for the locally known Gros Plant grown in Pays Nantais?
A
Folle Blanche
10
Q
Wine business of Pays Nantais - what has been its history since the 80s?
What business model controls most of the sales?
A
Wine Business
- Huge success in Britain in the 80s - 13,000 ha.s at its peak
- 1991 a severe frost cut production by 2/3rds (Australian wines were becoming popular and market was eroded)
- Since - sought to reposition as terroir-specific wines/hi Q and good value
Sales
- Exports for Pays Nantais is 17% by volume (low)
- Négociants account for >50% of sales (number of negociants reducing due to consolidation.
11
Q
What is the climate of Anjou Saumur?
What is the soil type?
A
- Warm/Maritime influence / Mauges mtn protect
- Maritime influences decreases over Anjou-Saumur and then Touraine
- Rain all year (700mm)
- flowering/Fr set/disease pressure/harvest risk
- Best exp sites (ripening) for still, other for sparkling
- Layon R + tribs > mist end of grow season> noble rot
Soils
- Stony, schist & limestone
- flint, gravel,tuff
- good drainage + retention from limestone qualities
- “limestone” means??? ROOTSTOCK Riparia Gloire and Fercal to protect from Chlorosis
12
Q
Chenin Blanc
A
Chenin Blanc:
- Buds early (frost)
- Vigorous; high yielding
- Ripens late (aut rain - dilution/rot)
- Prone to P MD; BBR; trunk diseases
- Ripens unevenly; needs several passes> hand pick> mech ltd
- Dominant variety in Loire: Sparkling; dry off dry, sweet
-
DRY Wines:
- M int honey, wet straw, green apple & Lemon (sometimes steely smoky character)
- M alc, hi acid (balanced with RS for off dry style)
- g/vg Q - inexp - mid price
- Mostly vinified as varietal but up to 20% SB or CH allowed in Anjou and Saumur
- Notable producer : Domaine Huet
13
Q
Cabernet Franc?
A
Cabernet Franc: >30% of plantings in Anjou-Saumur
- Buds early (frost) & coulure; mid ripening (leafy if unripe~ canopy mgt)
- warmer climate has reduced incid of the herbaceous Loire CF
- Winter hardy; good variety for cool areas
- Char
- M-pron redcurrant/raspberry , violet ;l/m body, m tannin, hi acid
- Well suited to cool inland climates
- Compared to Cabernet Sauvignon:
- In Loire tends to be single Varietal or part of Rose blend
- In Eastern Touraine, blended with Cot (Malbec)
14
Q
Grolleau Noir?
A
Grolleau Noir:
- Early budding; Mid ripening
- Prone to botrytis bunch rot
- Mainly used as a blending variety in roses, especially Rose d’Anjou & Rose de Loire
15
Q
Gamay Noir?
A
Gamay Noir:
- Early budding and ripening (frosts)
- Generally made by carbonic maceration, as in Beaujolais
- Some found in Anjou;
- Principally grown in Touraine & central vineyards
- High yields -> usually grown in gobelet
16
Q
Cabernet Sauvignon?
A
Cabernet Sauvignon:
- Late ripening; performs best in temperate Anjou and on warmest sites where early budding is possible.
- Extremely vigorous vine but susceptible to powdery mildew, eutypa and excoriose
- Freq blended with Cab franc; and used in Rose blends
- Produces deep coloured, conc tannin> age-worthy reds with aromas of blackberries,
- Slowly gaining ground in Loire
17
Q
Explain the three winemaking approaches for Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Franc and then Rose in Anjou-Saumur
A
Winemaking
- Chenin Blanc
- Ferm - large oak/ SS; cool to mid-range temp, can last several months
- Malo C typically avoided (primary fruit)
- Matured in large neutral containers (primary fruit)
- Cabernet Franc
- Crush
- ferment in concrete/old wood vat with punch /pump
- Ambient yeast preferred
- Aged in used oak barrels of various sizes (primary fruit)
- Some premium wines aged in proportion new Barriques
- Rose winemaking:
- Many direct press, some short macerations;
- proceed as for white wine
- short ageing (3-4 mths) in neutral containers
18
Q
Anjou AOC - what are the basic rules for dry white, reds, rose
A
Anjou AOC (hi yields > low flavour intensity)
- R&W 60hl; Rose 67hl
- White mb 80% Chenin; Red 70% CF +/CS
Anjou Villages AOC Still red wine only
- higher q reds
- 100% CF +/CS 55hl
- earliest release Sept after harvest
Many forsake the appellation system and opt for Vin de France
19
Q
Name the AOC’s and describe the regulations for production of sweet wines in Anjou
A
- Appellations for SWEET Wines (yield / min % POT alc)
- finished wine m alc typical*
- Coteaux de Layon AOC (35hl 14% abv)
- Coteaux de Layon AOC + village (30hl 15%abv)
- Bonnezeaux AOC (25hl 15%abv)
- Coteaux de Layon AOC Pr Cru Chaume (25hl 16.5%abv)
- Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru AOC (20hl 18%abv)
- the reducing yield, and higher sweetness means wines of very high flavour intensity and rich texture. (VG/OS and typ prem price)
Coteau Layon AOC:
- slopes, right bank of Layon river which runs into the Loire
- Specilialises in botrytis affected, but if this does not occur - can be vine shrivelled also
- Botrytis affected harvest requires several passes
- Natual high acidity of CB offsets the sweetness
-
Char:
- pron cooked citrus, apple, honey
- sweet, m+ body, m alc, hi acidity
- g-vg ; mid - prem price
20
Q
Where is Savenierres located, what kind of exposure does it have and what is its soil made of?
A
- Note small + presitgious*
- Always dry, always Chenin Blanc*
North bank of the river Loire, south of Angers.
- Steep south-facing aspect.
- low fertility, rocky schist soils
- low yields
- gives wnes of high acid, high alc, cb very austere in youth - historically needed years in bottle to become approachable
- with climate change, higher temps > wines cb concentrated, but more fruity style
- some create premium cuvees using prop of new oak barrels
- *Savennieres AOC** full dry CB 50hl
- *Savennieres La Roche aux Moines** AOC 30hl
- *Coulee de Serrant AOC** 30hl >> monopole owned by Nicolas Joly a figurehead in the BIOdynamic movement
28
Q
Compare the volumes produced, by styles of wine in Anjou Saumur and Touraine
A
- Anjou-Saumur produces about 2ce as much as Tourane
- rose in Anjou is 10x rose production in Touraine
- Anjou-Saumur makes significantly more sparkling wine
- Touraine makes 2x the still red and still white that Anjou-Saumur makes
35
Q
Structure of the wine trade in the Loire?
What % do the main production types make up of Loire wine production?
A
- mainly family owned businesses (Estates with ancestory)
Sales by Vol - Loire Valley
-
Negociants 50%
- the top 10 account for 82% of all sales of wine by vol
- Négociants increasingly opt to vinify own wine rather than rely on finished wine ~ large negociant co’s now own presigious estates
- eg Grand Chais de France bought Chateau des Fesles (Bonnezeaux) & Chateau de Cleray (Muscadet serve et Maine)
- Ackerman bought Chateau de Sancerre
-
Estates 41%
- equally also adding negociant busines to their portfolio
- helps to keep production going if there are vintage variation (customers and financial)
- Cooperatives just less than 10%
Sales
- 44% Spec Retail and Hospitality
- 36% Supermarket
- 20% Export (US, UK, Germany)
- Sancerre outperforms all other appellations ito value and vol
