France - Loire Valley: Anjou-Saumur and Touraine Flashcards
1
Q
Key varieties in Anjou-Saumur (5)
Key varieties in Tourraine (5)
A
Anjou-Saumur:
a) Cab Franc = approx 40%; b) Chenin = approx 25%; c) Grolleau Noir = approx 7%; d) Cab Sav = approx 5%; e) Chardonnay = approx 5%.
Tourraine:
a) Cab Franc = approx 31%; b) Chenin = approx 21%; c) Sauvignon B = approx 21%; d) Gamay = approx 10%;
e) Malbec = approx 3%.
2
Q
Climate in A-S (2)
Climate in Tourraine (2)
Soil types: A-S (2) / Tourraine (1)
Common factors (3)
A
- Anjou-Saumur: a) more marked martime influence (moderates continentality) than in Tourraine; b) fog around the River Layon, favouring the spread of botrytis (noble rot).
- Tourraine: a) continental climate (cold winters, warm summers); b) not as extreme as in Central Vineyards (some maritime influence).
- Wide range of soil types: a) A-S = mostly schist & limestone; b) Tourraine = more chalk.
- Common factors: a) continental climate in both, higher maritime influence in A-S; b) adequate rain falls throughout the year (spring: flowering / fruit set; summer: disease pressure; late summer / autumn: affects harvest); c) best-exposed sites are reserved for still wines.
3
Q
Budding & ripening
Advantages (2)
Disadvantages (4)
Flavour characteristics
Quality level
Price level
A
Dominant variety in the middle Loire.
- early budding / late ripening.
- advantages: a) high yields (commercial / volume); b) prone to botrytis (noble rot).
- disadvantages: a) vulnerable to autumn rains; b) high yields (quality / premium wines); c) ripens unevenly (several passes / limits mechanization); d) vulnerable to frost.
- diseases: a) botryties; b) powdery mildew; c) trunk diseases.
- flavour characteristics (dry / off-dry styles): med intensity of green apple, lemon; sometimes with steely / smoky character; med alc, noticeable high acid, sometimes off-set with some RS.
- quality level: good to v. good, with a few outstading ex.
- price level: inexpensive to mid price, with a few premium.
4
Q
Budding & ripening
Advantages (2)
Disadvantages (2)
Flavour characteristics
Quality level
Price level
A
- early budding / mid ripening.
- advantages: a) less vulnerable to autumn rains; b) winter hardy.
- disadvantages: a) vulnerable to frost; b) can be excessive leafy if unripe.
- diseases: a) coulure; b) reduced yields (due to coulure).
- flavour characteristics: pronounced redcurrant, raspberry, violet; can have leafy aromas light to med body, med tannins and high acid.
- quality level: good to v. good, some outstanding.
- price level: inexpensive to mid priced.
5
Q
Budding & ripening
Advantages (4)
Disadvantages (3)
Flavour characteristics
Quality level
Price level
A
- found mostly in Torraine (some in Anjou as well).
- early budding / early ripening.
- advantages: a) less vulnerable to autumn rain; b) produces approachable wines; c) it’s very fashionable (which gurantees a certain level of demand); d) high yielding (commercial / volume)
- disadvantages: a) susceptible to spring frosts; b) vulnerable to millerandage (reduces yields); c) thin / delicate skin is vulnerable to rot & wind; c) very vigorous vine.
- flavour characteristics: med to pronounced aromas of fresh red cherries, red plum, often banana / kirsch (typical of semi-carbonic), light to med in body, med alc, light to med in tannins, med(+) to high acid.
- quality level: good to v. good
- price: inexpensive to med-priced.
6
Q
Chenin Blanc (4)
Cabernet Franc (5)
Rose wines (3)
A
- Chenin blanc: a) cool to mid temp (fermentation can last months); b) fermentation vessels: stainless steel / large old oak; c) malo is typically avoided; d) ageing vessels: neutral, to retain primary fruit.
- Cabernet Franc: a) mid temp (to preserve primary aromas); b) fermentation vessels: concrete or old vats (punch downs / pump overs); c) many producers use ambient yeasts; d) typically aged in old oak (range of sizes); e) proportion of NFO for premium wines.
- Rose: a) many are made by direct press; b) short maceration in some; c) short ageing (3-4 months) in neutral vessels.
7
Q
How many regional appellations cover the middle Loire?
A
- there isn’t a regional generic appellation for Loire (such as Bordeaux AOC.
- 3 regional appellations in middle Loire: Anjou AOC, Saumur AOC and Tourraine AOC.
- IGP Val de Loire covers the whole of Loire.
8
Q
Location
Yields
Varieties permitted
Style
Quality level
Price level
A
- covers red, white and rose in all Anjou, middle Loire.
- yields: a) red & white = 60 hL/ha; b) rose = 65 hL/ha.
- Anjou Blanc: min 80% of Chenin Blanc
- Anjou Rouge: min 70% of Cab Franc and/or Cab Sav.
- style: low flavour / aroma intensity, youthful, simple.
- quality level: acceptable to good.
- price level: inexpensive
9
Q
Location
Yields
Varieties permitted
Release date regulation
Style
Quality level
Price level
Producer’s current reaction to the appellation system
A
- still red wines only.
- yield: 55 hL/ha.
- Cab Franc and or Cab Sav only; in practice, these wines are mostly Cab Franc varietal.
- can only be release in September the year after harvest.
- style: more aroma / fruit concentration, slighty more complex due to longer ageing.
- quality level: good - v. good
- price level: mid-priced.
- significant number of producers opt to use Vin de France instead of the appellation system.
10
Q
Location
Yields (CdL & CdL + named village)
Varieties permitted
Style
Quality level
Price level
Recent trends (1)
A
- large appellation on the banks of the river Layon.
- yields: a) Coteaux du Layon = 35 hL/ha; b) CdL + named village = 30 hL/ha.
- Chenin blanc
- style: a) AOC specializes in botrytised Chenin Blanc; if it fails to develop, grapes are dried on the vines; b) pronounced aromas of apple & citrus (cooked), honey notes; sweet, medium body, medium alc and high acid.
- quality level: good to v. good
- price level: mid-priced to premium.
- sales on all of these sweet wines have dropped due to a low demand for sweet wines; producers have switched to producing higher volumes of dry / lower volumes of sweet wine.
11
Q
Grand Cru & 1er Cru AOC
Location
Yields (Grand Cru & 1er Cru)
Varieties permitted
Style
Quality level
Price level
A
- Grand Cru: Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru AOC
- 1er Cru: Coteaux du Layon 1er Cru AOC
- location: on the banks of the river Layon, close to where it joins the Loire.
- yields: a) Quarts de Chaume = 20 hL/ha; CdL 1er Cru: 25 hL/ha
- Chenin Blanc
- style: generally similar to CdL AOC, but with higher alc, rich texture and very high flavour intensity.
- quality: v. good to outstanding.
- price level: typically premium, with a few super-premium.
12
Q
Location
Varieties permitted
Yields
Style
Quality level
Price level
New trends
A
- northern bank of Loire, near Angers
- Chenin Blanc
- yield: a) 50 hL/ha (dry wine); b) 35 hL/ha (demi-sec and sweet)
- Style (dry): high acid, high alc (can be very austere in youth and used to require many years in bottle); with improved vineyard management / warmer conditions, slightly more fruity and approachable.
- quality level: good to v. good, with a few outstanding examples.
- price level: mid-priced to premium.
- new trend: some producers are anow creating premium wines using a proportion of new barrels.
13
Q
Location
Varieties permitted
Yields
Style
Quality level
Price level
A
- technically, anywhere in Loire; practically, mostly in Anjou.
- Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gamay and Grolleau Noir.
- yield: 60 hL/ha
- style: dry
- quality: acceptable to good
- price level: inexpensive
14
Q
Location
Varieties permitted
Yields
Style
Quality level
Price level
A
- can be produced anywhere in Anjou.
- varieties permitted: 2 Cabernets, Cot and Gamay.
- yield: 65 hL/ha
- style: pink-orange in colour, medium dry, medium intensity of red berry, med(+) acid, med alc.
- quality level: acceptable to good (some v. good).
- price level: inexpensive to mid-priced.
15
Q
Location
Varieties permitted
Yields
Style
Quality level
Price level
A
- can be produced anywhere in Anjou.
- varieties permitted: 2 Cabernets.
- yield: 60 hL/ha.
- style: medium dry, deeper in colour than most rose.
- quality level: good to v. good.
- price level: inexpensisive to mid-priced.
