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Loire wines, going beyond Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé

08/05/2020 Production area

Hidden behind the curtain of fame generated by the extraordinary Sauvignon Blanc wines made in the Loire Valley, this region’s Cabernet Franc red wines are a gem waiting to be discovered. So, let’s go on a journey through the garden of France and take a closer look at wines from the Loire!

loire valley wines

The Loire Valley is the third largest wine region in France by size. It runs along the Loire river, which is the longest in the country. It stretches more than a thousand kilometres, starting in the Massif Central and crossing France until it reaches the Atlantic, through the city of Nantes.

As well as being home to over four thousand wineries in about 80 denominations, the Loire Valley is an extraordinary area filled with castles and dream landscapes. There is a good reason it is known as “The Garden of France”.

Their wonderful, long-living white wines are world-famous. Made with Sauvignon Blanc, and smoky and mineral, they come from regions like Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé and can easily compete with the best white wines from Burgundy. 

We still have not fully discovered the full potential of sparkling wines from the Loire Valley: cremants and mousseaux made mainly with the Chenin Blanc variety that can compete with champagnes, but for a more reasonable price.

Red wines are the great unknown of the Loire Valley, where Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes can’t compete with the Cabernet Franc variety, which grows alongside varieties like Gamay, Pinot Noir, or native varieties like Grolleau and Pineau D’Aunis, which can also be used to make rosé wines.

So let’s talk about two areas of the Loire Valley where Cabernet Franc is the absolute queen and where they produce elegant red wines with great aging potential but that are strangely undervalued. A treasure yet to be discovered!

Would you like to find out more?

Chinon and Anjou-Saumur, where the best red wines from the Loire are made

Chinon

Located in the south of the Loire region and with vineyards on both sides of the River Vienne, Chinon is, without question, where the Loire Valley’s most prestigious red wines are produced, made with the Cabernet Franc variety, which is known here as Breton.

The lightest and most perfect wines for enjoying young come from plots with sandy soils in the Vienne River Valley, west of Chinon. Further north there are mud and gravel soils that produce firmer-bodied wines that are perfect for long aging. But the finest wines with good aging potential come from vineyards lying on slopes with predominantly calcareous soils.

In northern Chinon, but on the opposite bank of the Loire, we find Bourgueil A.C. and Saint Nicholas de Bourgueil A.C. A wooded plateau protects them from the winds from the north and contributes to a more favourable climate in an area that also produces high-quality Cabernet Franc red wines.

 Anjou-Saumur

This region lies in the heart of the Loire, with a milder climate and more marked seasons. This is the most productive of the Loire sub-regions. It produces red, white and rosé wines in similar proportions but in terms of red wines it is possibly the Saumur-Champigny appellation, located just outside Saumur, a beautiful medieval city known as “The pearl of Anjou”, where you will find the best red wines in the Loire Valley, made of course with Cabernet Franc and offering earthy notes, silky tannins and hints of violets.

The area’s wineries are carved into the calcareous slopes with tuffeau soils, a type of micaceous limestone that is so characteristic of the area. This location is perfect for the conservation and aging of the wines that are produced there.

As you can see, the Loire Valley is not just a land of white wines. This huge region is also a great producer of silky and delicate red wines that would make the perfect surprise. They are also made in beautiful cities surrounded by castles, making it great for sightseeing, even if just through a glass of wine.

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