We love the range of wines that come from the Loire Valley. Below we’ve included a very high level, broad overview of the region. It’s not entirely comprehensive, but we hope will give those new to the region a good understanding of the wines. The Loire Valley is generally categorised into 4 regions, which we’ll list from West to East. The Loire overall tends to be consistently cool, with sunny days and cool nights, and so produces wine with consistently high acidity – which is why the Loire is so famous for white wines.
Nantes
The westernmost part of the Loire, in the North-West of France by the Atlantic Ocean, this region is most famous for Muscadet. Muscadet is made from a grape called Melon de Bourgogne (also known as Melon), which can be quite challenging to categorise, as it’s a relatively neutral grape. The best versions of Muscadet are ‘sur lie’ i.e. aged on their lees (dead yeast cells) – like Champagne. This gives it a brioche-y, doughy aroma (a bit like Champagne) alongside subtle apricot and mineral notes. Muscadet Sèvre et Maine makes the best wines (usually sur lie) because of the range of soils – Domaine de la Combe makes wines from single sites so you can really taste the impact of the different soils. It’s generally a fresh, tangy wine and goes very well with fish and seafood.
Anjou-Saumur
While this region is known for its Rosé d’Anjou (often made from Grolleau), which isn’t usually particularly high quality. The main quality grapes here are Chenin Blanc (white) and Cabernet Franc (red), and they commonly make red, white, rosé, sparkling, and even sweet (noble rot) wines. Anjou Blanc is interesting as it’s often aged or fermented in barrel. Also look out for aged Saumur Mousseux for a lovely sparkling wine which retains acidity, whilst developing nutty, honeyed notes from ageing. The Coteaux du Layon is a great area for sweet wines made with botrytised Chenin Blanc. The Cabernet Franc here provides herby, peppery notes – we love it with sausages, or even strawberries, as with our example below.
Touraine
The main grapes here are Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc. Well-known wines here are Touraine, Vouvray (Chenin Blanc), Chinon (mostly red) and Bourgueil (typically more powerful and aromatic than Chinon, although Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil is a bit fruitier and lighter). Touraine Sauvignon Blanc is particularly fresh and green, and a great value alternative to Sancerre.
Vouvray (and Montlouis nearby) uses mostly Chenin Blanc to make excellent sparkling wine, in a similar style to Champagne (look out for Vincent Careme for a great example). Vouvray wines (still and sparkling) are often demi-sec, and they make excellent sweet wines. We tried this off-dry Vouvray which is nice with richer savoury dishes that would benefit with a little sweetness or fruitiness like a creamy sauce, or a fattier meat like pork.
Central
The Easternmost part of the Loire is almost in the centre of France. The most common grapes are Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. Well-known wines are Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. Sauvignon Blanc is what people typically think of when they consider these regions, with Pouilly-Fumé typically being richer and with more minerality than Sancerre (which is usually a little fruitier). The cool climate typically provides the characteristics most commonly associated with Sauvignon Blanc of gooseberry, refreshing acidity and a slight smokiness – but some producers are making more ‘new world’ styles, with more tropical notes. It’s definitely worth exploring some of the wines with Pinot Noir here as well – if you come across a rosé Sancerre, do try it!
We loved these Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé wines with a local goat’s cheese, Crottin de Chavignol (you can buy it from Neal’s Yard Dairy or La Fromagerie). Goat’s cheese is often really challenging to match with white wines, as the rind seems to clash with the wine and make an unpleasant, bitter taste. This cheese is notably good with wine, and this is a perfect match.
Stay salty af,
Anika & Fleurie