loire Flashcards
give the four subregions from the loire from west to east:
1) Nantais
2) touraine
3) anjou saumur
4) nantais
there is no regional aop: but there is an igp val de loire
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how are the climatological surcomstances in the loire ?
overall the climat is cool:
1) nantais maritim climate
2) central vineyards: continental cool
3) the vineyards of Anjou are slightly warmer and drier
they are protected by the mauges hills and certain vineyards there benefit from warm stony soils
4) tourraine wich is further inland has a cooler wetter climat and clay soils
5) the vineyards lie at the northern limit for the production of the grape varieties grown
6) variations in the weather patterns from year to year, so the vintages can be very different.
7) fungal disseases linked to high levels of rainfall can be a particular issue
8) the best vineyards tend to be those who are exposured at the most sunlight
9) the most desirable vineyards are those on south facing slopes on the mid range and facing to the river for extracting extra heat and sunlight
what about sauvignon blanc in the loire?
its grown in the central vineyards and Tourraine, allthough the central vineyards are only good for a small percentage of production, they own 2 of the most prestigious app for sauvignon blanc from the world: Sancerre and Pouilly fumé
1) these vineyards are located on very chalky, well drained stony soil
2) dry, high acidity, aromas of green apple, asparagus and wet stones
3) Pouilly fume has subtle smokey notes
4) Chavignol and vineyard Les Monts Damnés are located both in Sancerre and represent the most expressive sauvignon wines
- — these wines can age in bottle, wherever normally pouilly fumé and sancerre are not wines for ageing.
what will be the winemakers technique for topquality sancerre or pf?
1) gentle pneumatic pressing and temp controlled stainless steel vessels will be used to create pure fresh and fruity wines
2) certain producers ferment and mature the wine in oak vessels and some may keep the wines on the lees to give them a broader texture
3) some give mlf, if a softer style is wanted. but mostly mlf happens in very cool vintages where the acidity is too high
Menetou Salon at the west of Sancerre is making more moderately priced wines. and is laying west of Sancerre and the vineyards are laying next to the tributaries (zijrivieren)
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what about whines from tourraine ?
theyre from the grape sauvignon blanc, often marked as sauvignon de tourraine. theyre mostly made in a fresh, simple and fruity style. and theyre often less concentrated than the premium sauvignon of the other regions
Chenin is a non aromatic wine that is responsible for great wines of the centre loire.
false: its responsible for great wines from the tourraine and anjou saumur
What is special about Chenin blanc?
1) high acidic
2) !! even within one bunch it is common for grapes to reach different levels of ripeness !!!
- - this can lead to herbaceous green flavours
- — for this reason severall passes thrue the vineyard will be needed for a good selection and grapeprocessing
3) the wines from chenin blanc can be: dry or sweet, still or sparkling
which level of ripeness will result in what kind of winestyle from chenin blanc ?
1) barely ripe fruit: Will give wines with 10-11% alc by volume and are mostly used for sparkling wines
2) the dry, medium and sweet styles of still wines reflect the use of increasingly ripe berries, even those at schrivelled in the sun (gedroogd in de zon) or affected by noble rot
What kind of aromas can chenin give on the different ripening levels?
1) young wines can give aromas of green apple trough to tropical fruit, depends on the level of ripeness
2) the dry wines can also have a smoky and steely character
3) sweet wines often have: the apricot and citrus peel character of the noble rot
4) chenin cane age like a boss and then gets aromas of lhoney toast and hay
chenin can be very different from taste, it all depends on terroir:
E.G.:
1) Vourvray is located to the east of the city of tours and produces styles from dry to luscious sweet and sparkling.
- - the cool climat and clay soils will give wines with light to med body, with fresh fruity and floral notes
- — it is rarely fermented in oak barrels
2) Saumur and anjou have similar climat and soils, saumur is renowned as a source of sparkling chenin blanc made by the traditional method, anjou is better known for its dry still wines, sometimes fermented and maturated in wooden barrels
3) savennieres makes chenin with a lot of body, savennieres has a relatively warm climat compared with vouvray. air circulation around these well exposed vineyards impede (tegenhouden) the development of nobel rot. but enables late harvested chenin be used for full bodied complexer wines. the best are noted for their potential to age in bottle
4) Coteaux du Layon: makes some of the most renowed sweet wines of the region. the app is located in the sheltered valley of the river Layon, south of the loire
- - here noble rot develops well
- - quarts de Chaume and Bonnezeaux rank among the best sweet wines of the world
what is melon blanc and why in a cool region ?
1) this variety is sometimes referred as muscadet or melon de bourgogne
2) it ripens early and is frost resistant
3) the vast majority is grown in the nantais region
the app of muscadet covers the widest area but the greatest production comes from the highly regarded app muscadet sèvre et maine.
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describes the different styles of muscadet in the nantais.
all the wines from the muscadet app are dry with med alc. the highest permitted alc is 12% alcohol by volume
1) traditionally the wines where fermented in large oak barrels, but now concrete or stainless steel vessels are more common
2) the wines display high acidity, light body and subtle green fruit flavours
3) these should be drunk young
4) muscadet sèvre et maine sur lie: is a speciality from the area
- - the wine is bottled in the spring following vintage, having spent the winter on it lees
- —-the contact gives the wine a richer texture
- —- the wine is handled very little, to retain delicacy and freshness
