My dear Wine Geometrists,
Today, I would like to introduce you to a new wine region, which most of you have never heard of: the Loire Valley.
Home of France's finest royal castles, this river has also helped to grow some of the best wines in France !
A total of over 4000 wineries participate in the reputation of this wine region.
Loire valley is most famous for its white wines, with quite famous names such as Vouvray, Pouilly Fumé, Muscadet... But its reds are also appreciated, especially in the towns of Chinon or Saumur.
That is precisely where I made my journey last month to discover more. Welcome to the Marché des Vins de Loire, in the small town of Montsoreau, which holds a very fine wine bar and wine tasting tour. Carved into the stone, this wonderful place holds a tour of 21 wines you can try in a troglodyte cave, where you can enjoy all the great names of the region. The owner provides you with a proper wine tasting glass (tastevin in French) and a sheet to write down what you liked best (and how many bottles you'd like to order for home!)
Here are the highlights of the visit:
- Vouvray is particularly famous for its Chenin Blanc, which has hints of straw (personally not my favourite)
- Pouilly Fume and its Sauvignon Blanc has a pungent herbaceous finish which is delightful, perfect with a salad. Same goes for Sancerre (white). These are really the references for any Sauvignon Blanc tasting, with a floral, asparagus taste.
- Muscadet, just like Chablis, has a metallic finish which suits seafood tasting.
As you can see, the region is quite diverse in its wine culture! It is also diverse in its wine techniques: Muscadet, for example, is not famous for its growing "sur lie", which is on dead yeast. Basically, they do not take out the yeast left after fermentation, which gives this additional taste of toast in the wine.
But it is also diverse in the types of grapes it grows.
- The Lower Loire, or Pays Nantais, grows mainly Muscadet, Gros Plant (light citrus, gold apple, yellow pair taste) and some Pinot Gris which is used to blend in wines
- The Anjou-Saumur-Touraine region grows a veeery wide range of grape varieties, red and white. Most famous in the region are Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc (for whites) and Grolleau (for reds), but local winemakers use many ot the same grapes used in other regions: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Pinoit Noir, Pinot Meunier, Gamay, Chardonnay...
- The Upper Loire or Central Vineyards, grows a lot of the same grapes as in Burgundy, as the climates are quite close already.
Wines I can recommend in Singapore: Its red wines, such as Chinon or Saumur Champigny, which are decent inexpensive table wines, but I wouldn't recommend to bring when you are invited for dinner.
So I would conclude that even if you think you are a red wine drinker, you should really try these whites, which are way above average !
