Loire Flashcards
Which was the main grape in Sancerre prior phylloxera?
phylloxera first identified, in 1877
Pinot Noir
Which is the percentage of organic and sustainable vineyards in Loire?
About 30% of Loire Valley vineyards are now either sustainably or organically farmed
Many of the best-known Loire appellations were defined in?
1936
including Muscadet, Vouvray, Bourgueil, Chinon, and Saumur
The Loire has five IGPs for wine (and one for Calvados), of which the most important by far is?
Val de Loire
(The Loire’s other IGPs are Côtes de la Charité, Coteaux de Tannay, Coteaux du Cher et de l’Arnon, and Puy de Dôme)
Val de Loire covers which styles?
Reds, whites, and rosés are made under the Val de Loire banner, and almost all are single-variety wines
90h/l permitted
Loire Valley hectares?
56,900 hectares of vines, an area larger than the entire Austrian or New Zealand vineyard.
The basis of the soils of Muscadet and other appellations of the Nantais region and the western half of Anjou, including Savennières is known as?
Anjou Noir (black Anjou) because of the dark soils that characterize the Armorican Massif. Granite, gneiss, multicolored schist, slate, and pudding stones are found here.
Soils of Anjou and Touraine?
The more recent, shallow seas that receded to leave soils based on soft, chalky Cretaceous limestone are easily visible today in the houses, castles, and cellars of the lower Loire
Soils of Central Vineyards?
The seas were deeper here, however, and these older soils (from the Jurassic period) are frequently characterized by the presence of tiny fossils. The Kimmeridgian clays found in Sancerre continue to the vineyards of Chablis
Flint in Pouilly Fume and St Andelain
Name the tributaries of Loire River
Maine, Sèvre, Vienne, Indre, Allier, Loir, Layon, Thouet, or Cher
Sauvignon Blanc is prone to?
powdery mildew
small-berried, tightly packed bunches make it susceptible to botrytis, and wood diseases including Eutypa dieback and esca
Chenin Blanc grows in which regions of Loire?
The grape plays a key role in Anjou-Saumur, where its best-known incarnation is in the small but significant appellation of Savennières, and in the eastern slice of the Touraine region, where the Vouvray and Montlouis-sur-Loire appellations champion this versatile variety.
Name the synonims of Chenin Blanc
Pineau de la Loire and Pineau d’Anjou
Wines from Auvergne must be?
100% Chardonnay
Folle Blanche is also called?
Gros Plant
Name an appellation dedicated to Folle Blanche
Gros Plant du Pays Nantais
Cour-Cheverny AOC main grape?
Romorantin
Chasselas is produced in?
Pouilly-sur-Loire
What is Malvoise?
semisweet wine in the Coteaux d’Ancenis appellation, east of Nantes from Pinot Gris
Reuilly makes vin gris from?
Pinot Gris
Cabernet Franc is known also as?
Rabelais was the first to mention the red grape in the Loire, in 1534, under the name of Breton
Where do we found Cabernet Franc?
The variety is at home in the Saumur region as well as the western half of Touraine, particularly the appellations of Chinon, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, and Bourgueil. There are also plantings on the schist soils of Anjou, where it can be blended with Cabernet Sauvignon. It may also be found in a blend with Côt (Malbec) or Gamay in Touraine.
Which is the second most planted red grape in Loire?
Gamay
On its own, Gamay is used to make pale, delicate wines which appellations?
Coteaux d’Ancenis appellation, sometimes with a small amount of Cabernet Franc
In Anjou and Touraine, too, some Gamay is vinified alone to make Anjou or Touraine Gamay
In the Côtes d’Auvergne, Gamay and Pinot Noir combine to produce easy-drinking reds and rosés
The Loire’s most exciting Gamay wines come from the appellations where the variety is the only one permitted for reds and rosés: the Côte Roannaise and Côtes du Forez
The major appellations for Pineau d’Aunis are ?
Coteaux du Vendômois and Coteaux du Loir, where the grape is used to produce red and rosé wines.
Malbec synonim?
Côt
Which is the largest appellation in the Loire?
Muscadet
Name the AOCs of Muscadet
Muscadet AOC
Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine
Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire
Muscadet Côtes de Grandlieu
Name the other appellations in the Nantais
Coteaux d’Ancenis
Gros Plant du Pays Nantais
Fiefs Vendéens
Muscadet AOC allows a 10%
Melon B: up to 10% Chardonnay
Soils of Muscadet?
a highly complex and varied mixture of igneous and metamorphic rocks, including gneiss, granite, gabbro, amphibolite, mica schist, and many others.
Muscadet yields?
70h/l and 55 for the others
Name the crus of Muscadet
The first crus—Clisson, Gorges, and Le Pallet—were approved in 2011
A further four—Goulaine, Château Thébaud, Monnières-Saint-Fiacre, and Mouzillon-Tillières in 2019
Vallet, Champtoceaux, La Haye fouassiere
45hl/ha
The crus Goulaine and Le Pallet must stay on lees until?
April 1 of the second year following harvest; the other approved crus must age for at least an additional six months, until October 1 of the second year after harvest.
A wine to be labeled sur lie?
between March 1 and November 30 of the year following the harvest
it must spend no more than one winter on lees and may not be bottled before March 1 of the year following fermentation, which equates to between 5 and 14 months of aging.
Who is the winemaker of Domaine de l’Ecu?
Guy Bossard
Clisson ageing requirements, soils and style?
Ample, powerful, concentrated and full-bodied, generally exhibit higher levels of alcohol. Produced from extremely ripe grapes, they require very long maturing, from twenty-four to thirty-six months.
In southern part of the Muscadet Sèvre et Maine appellation. soils of sand and pebbles that offer excellent drainage and low fertility. The subsoil is mostly composed of identical “Clisson granite” parent rock
Domaine de la Pèpiere and CHÉREAU-CARRÉ
are notable producers
Considered the best cru
Gorge ageing requierments, soils and style?
The wines of Gorges are characterized by their long, lingering finish. They deliver tension on the palate and aromas of menthol, lemon, smoke and even flint, sometimes with notes of citrus fruit and zest. Somewhat muted when young, the wines of Gorges require long maturing—twenty-four to forty months—to fully reveal their potential.
Gorges is characterized by deep soils of decomposed clay and clay with quartz pebbles with medium to high fertility, beneath which lies a homogenous subsoil mostly composed of gabbro ( cooled lava and can be dark – even green).
Le Pallet ageing requirements, soils and style?
The wines of Le Pallet are delightful, generous and elegant, with lovely fruity and mineral notes. Eighteen months of maturing generally suffice to reveal their powerful aromas and impart upon them their characteristic silkiness.
Le Pallet is located at the heart of the Muscadet wine region on the right bank of the Sèvre.
favor shallow, rocky soils with good drainage. The exposure of Le Pallet, with its steep slopes, results in moderate vine vigor with a subsoil composed of gneiss, orthogneiss and mica schist.
Vignerons du Pallet one of the top producers
Goulaine ageing requierements, soils and style?
Elegant and harmonious, the wines of Goulaine deliver opulence and balance.
They are matured on lees for twenty to thirty months.
Goulaine systematically the first appellation to harvest due to warm microclimate. Soils run from shallow to moderately deep and are mostly composed of sand, some of which is coarsely grained. The underlying subsoil is primarily siliceous metamorphic rock (gneiss and mica schist).
Luneau-Papin’s ‘Terre de Pierre’ and ‘Excelsior and Bonnet-Huteau Goulaine
Chateau Thebaud ageing requierements, soils and style?
The wines of Château-Thébaud evoke vegetal aromas including fennel and licorice and spices like anise. They deliver balance and an elegant tension on the palate with a slightly salty finish. To fully reveal their potential, they require long aging on lees, for thirty-six to forty-eight months.
The subsoil is composed of granodiorite (calco-alkaline granite) and gneiss resulting from this granite
Mouzillon Tilieres ageing requirements, soils and style?
One of the two easternmost crus (along with Vallet). Like Gorges, Mouzillon-Tillères abounds in gabbro and clay. Unsurprisingly, wines from here bear some resemblance to those of Gorges
Monierres Saint Fiacre ageing requirements, soils and style?
The principal soil type here is clay made of decomposed Gneiss. It imbues the wines with density, and flavors of ripe, candied citrus. Like those of Gorges, these wines can be quite expressive of smoke and rocks, but here the wines are a little flashier and more muscular out of the gate
La Haye Fouassiere ageing requirements, soils and style?
The wines of La Haye Fouassière exhibit tension and refinement. They are extremely expressive, with notes of menthol, fruit and flowers and a flinty, mineral character. The grapes from which they are produced reach maturity early on, so they generally reach full expression after only eighteen months of maturing on lees, a significantly shorter period than required by neighboring crus.
Situated on the right bank of the Sèvre, La Haye Fouassière is the westernmost cru communal of the Muscadet Sèvre et Maine appellation
mostly orthogneiss soils
Vallet ageing requirements, soils and style?
Vallet’s wines are rich and elegant, with a highly expressive nose of fruit and flowers. They are matured for more than eighteen months.
Vallet is located in the eastern and northeastern part of the region. Located inland, it enjoys a microclimate resulting in a very regular—albeit late—growing cycle
The subsoil is primarily composed of metamorphic rock (mica schist). Gabbro with granite inclusion is also present
Champtoceaux ageing requirements, soils and style?
The wines of Champtoceaux are velvety, even silky, with dense texture and an intense, complex nose. Younger vintages deliver notes of orange blossom and fresh fruit like citrus fruit and peach while older vintages develop notes of spice and aromatic herbs (thyme, sage, licorice) as well as of pastry
These wines are matured on lees for a minimum of seventeen months.
Champtoceaux is the youngest cru communal, and the only one to be located in Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire
sedimentary basins primarily composed of mica schist with some gneiss, leptynite, amphibolite and schist.
Coteaux d’Ancenis AOC produces?
Semisweet Pinot Gris, locally known as Malvoisie, with 20 to 40 grams per liter of residual sugar. Most is consumed within the region. Reds and rosés are typically 100% Gamay but may contain a small proportion of Cabernet Franc. These are light, dry, and refreshing wines that reflect the cool and mild oceanic climate
Gros Plant du Pays Nantais AOC produces?
A former Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure (VDQS) whites-only denomination for dry wines from the Folle Blanche (meaning “crazy white”) grape, less evocatively known as Gros Plant (meaning “big plant”).
75 hl/ha
The wines are mild in aroma and flavor, and they are characterized by their uniformly high acidity. Gros Plant may be aged on lees for a few months in a similar fashion to Muscadet sur lie. Most wines are 100% Folle Blanche but may include up to 10% Colombard
The most oceanic of the Loire’s vineyards is the coastal region of?
Fiefs Vendéens AOC
Name the sub-zones of Fiefs Vendéens AOC
Brem, Chantonnay, Mareuil, Pissotte, Vix
Fiefs Vendéens produces?
All wines must be blends. Reds and rosés, produced in similar quantities, account for more than 80% of the appellation’s wines.
Rosés are blends of Pinot Noir and Gamay; reds are from Pinot Noir or Cabernet Franc blended with Négrette, the variety native to southwestern France.
Whites are blends of a majority of Chenin Blanc with Chardonnay.
Which region is the largest for both production and area under vine in Loire?
Anjou-Saumur
Anjou-Saumur grape varieties?
Chenin Blanc dominates for white and sparkling wines, while Cabernet Franc is the primary grape for reds and rosés. Supporting varieties include Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grolleau, and Pineau d’Aunis.
A distinction is made between the Anjou Noir and the Anjou Blanc, reflecting the visible difference between the soils of?
Darker, black rocks of volcanic origin and the pale, chalky limestone.
The region with the lowest rainfall of all the growing regions of the Loire?
Anjou-Saumur
which are responsible for creating conditions favorable to making the sweet wines of Anjou?
The Loire and several other rivers contribute to the climate and styles of wine, notably the Layon and Aubance tributaries.
Name the rose styles of Anjou
Cabernet d’Anjou
Rosé d’Anjou
Rosé de Loire
The rosé-focused Cabernet d’Anjou AOC accounts for?
45% of the Anjou-Saumur region’s volume and Rosé d’Anjou AOC a further 17%
Cabernet d’Anjou AOC requirements?
Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, and any combination or single-varietal expression of the grapes can be used to make this semisweet rosé.
Minimum of 10 grams per liter of residual sugar, but there is no upper limit, and they are typically sweeter than this.
60hl/ha
Rosé d’Anjou AOC requirements?
Grolleau, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pineau d’Aunis, Gamay, and Côt.
minimum residual sugar content of 7 grams per liter
off-dry in style
60hl/ha
Rosé de Loire requirements?
An additional category of rosé wine covers approximately 730 hectares spread across the Anjou-Saumur and Touraine regions. Rosé de Loire is made from the same range of grapes as Cabernet d’Anjou and Rosé d’Anjou, but it is always dry, with a maximum permitted residual sugar of 3 grams per liter. There is no requirement to state the sweetness level on any of these wines.
60hl/ha
Rosé de Loire may include the geographical designation “Val de Loire” on the label.
Anjou produces mainly?
Around 60% of the generic Anjou appellation’s production is Anjou Rouge, made from Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, max 30% Pineau d’Aunis, and Grolleau. Wines labeled Anjou Gamay must be 100% from the variety.
Anjou Blanc is comprised of?
Chenin Blanc, plus max. 20% combined Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc
Mousseux Blanc and Rose in Anjou?
Vin Mousseux Blanc: Min. 70% Chenin Blanc, plus Cab. Franc, Cab. Sauvignon, Grolleau, Grolleau Gris, Pineau d’Aunis, Gamay, and max. 20% Chardonnay (traditional method, min. 9 months on lees)
Vin Mousseux Rosé: Cab. Franc, Cab. Sauvignon, Cot, Gamay, Grolleau, Grolleau Gris, Pineau d’Aunis (traditional method, min. 9 months on lees)
Anjou Brissac and Anjou-Villages produce?
Red wines only, made from Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon
50hl/ha for Brissac
55hl/ha for Village
Name the sweet wine AOCs of Anjou
Coteaux du Layon
Coteaux du Layon Villages
Coteaux du Layon Premier Cru Chaume
Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru
Bonnezeaux
Coteaux de l’Aubance
Coteaux de Saumur
Coteaux de Saumur requierements?
100% Chenin Blanc
Minimum Alcohol: 15%
Chaptalization is prohibited.
Minimum Residual Sugar: 34 g/l
max yield 35hl/ha and grapes must be hand-picked
Coteaux de l’Aubance requierements?
100% Chenin Blanc
Sélection de Grains Nobles (SGN)
Minimum Potential Alcohol: 14%
Chaptalization is legal
Minimum Residual Sugar: 34 g/l and hand picked
35 hl/ha
Élevage:
Blanc may not be released until March 1 of the year following the harvest
SGN wines may not be released until June 15 of the second year following the harvest.
Bonnezeaux requierements?
100% Chenin Blanc
Minimum Potential Alcohol: 15%
chaptalization is legal
Minimum Residual Sugar: 51 g/l
25 hl/ha
Grapes may be affected by botrytis and must be harvested by hand in successive tries
Élevage: Wines may not be released until April 1 of the year following the harvest
Coteaux du Layon requierements?
Blanc: 100% Chenin Blanc
Sélection de Grains Nobles (SGN): botrytis-affected grapes
Coteaux du Layon: 14%
34 g/l
All grapes destined for the production of Coteaux du Layon & its communal designations must be hand harvested in successive tries.
35 hl/ha
Name the villages of Coteaux du Layon
Beaulieu-sur-Layon, Faye-d’Anjou, Rablay-sur-Layon, Rochefort-sur-Loire, Saint-Aubin-de-Luigné, and Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay
Coteaux du Layon Village requierements?
min alc 15%
30 hl/ha
54 g/l
Coteaux du Layon Premier Cru Chaume requierements?
Coteaux du Layon Chaume Premier Cru: 16.5%
80 g/l
Chaptalization is not allowed for Chaume Premier Cru and SGN wines
hand picked
25 hl/ha
Wines may not be released until September 1 of the year following the harvest
Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru requirements?
20 hl/ha
Minimum Potential Alcohol: 18%
Chaptalization is prohibited
hand picked
85 g/l
Wines may not be released until September 1 of the year following the harvest
Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru soils?
complex soils that include Broverian schists and pudding sandstones
Name some top producers and wines from Quarts de Chaume?
Domaine Belargus Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru Ultra
Domaine de Baumard
Chateau Bellerive
Domaine Jo Pithon
Domaine des Forges
Coteaux du Layon Premier Cru Chaume is a superior 70-hectare appellation within which commune?
the commune of Rochefort-sur-Loire
Chenin Black is known as?
Pineau de la Loire
Name the lieux-dits of Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru
Les Roueres, Le Veau and Les Quarts