Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/3815
It can be said that each wine region of France has a personality, one dictated as much by the wine- growers themselves as it is by geography, history and grape varieties. To the southwest of Paris lies the Loire Valley, comprising four distinct regions running westward with the fl ow of the Loire River; most of the winegrowing here occurs within sight of its banks or those of its many tributaries. The Loire is by nature a languid river; it meanders through countryside dotted with Renaissance palaces and châteaux as it makes its way towards the Atlantic Ocean. From this terminus, the river's estuary in the Nantais region, a journey up the river begins. Pays Nantais: Muscadet ages gracefully Clustered around the coastal city of Nantes, lies the northwestern-most region of wine production in France— the Pays Nantais—and within it, the AOC of Muscadet Sèvre et Maine. Synonymous with dry white wines crafted from Melon de Bourgogne, a white variety that speaks of the sandy composite soils and maritime climate with precise minerality and an almost salty tang, winemak- ers here contribute style and fi nesse to their wines with sur lie aging, batonnage and the use of neutral oak. Once thought to be short-lived, Muscadet wines are now being recognized for their ability to acquire bottle age. Held to low yields and produced sustainably, Melon de Bourgogne recalls its Burgundian origins and can be reminiscent of Meursault. Aromatic late-harvest cuvées like Ganichaud's 2005 Mon Rêve, offer spicy carnation, clove and lychee aromas, an expressive mid-palate and creamy fi nish, while the 2007 Rêve d'Automne shows petrol notes and more weight in the mid-palate with a fresh fi nish. At Château du Cléray, Pierre-Jean Sauvion produces superb examples of complex and focused wines that are redefi ning standards for the region. His 2008 Jardins Secrets Brut, a blend of six different terroirs, is bone dry as the name implies but rich and ideally suited to food, while the 2008 Château du Cléray cuvée (at two grams per liter of residual sugar) is fuller-bodied with aromas of white fl owers, citrus, tart apple and minerals and is the château's signature wine. Anjou-Saumur: Powerful whites The versatility and charms of Chenin Blanc are fully illustrated in the dry, sweet, late-harvest, botrytis and sparkling wines of the Anjour-Saumur. Just southwest of Angers, where the Mayenne River fl ows into the Loire from the north and where the smaller Layon meets it from the south, winegrower Florent Baumard makes a distin- guished portfolio of wines that includes all of the AOC styles for Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc. The 2005 Clos du Papillon, so named for the butterfl y shape of the vineyard, is a bone dry Savennières with bright acidity and concentrated minerality that has been made by the Baumard family for decades. The estate pro- duces moelleux wines from the Coteaux du Layon, using fractional blending to capture the best expression of each vintage, and a stunning Quartes de Chaume with gentle, anaerobic techniques. Baumard's Crémant de Loire spar- kling wines blend Chenin, Cabernet Franc and Chardon- nay for very crisp cuvées with lots of fl avor. Cabernet Franc fi nds a place here in rosé and vin rouge as well, and warmer vintages help it ripen fully. Among small cooperative or lieu-dit Cabernet Francs, Cave de Saumur's 2008 Les Vignoles, a Saumur-Champigny wine bottled at the Alliance de Loire cooperative located mid-way between Saumur and Chinon, stood out for its high-toned fl oral and blue fruit aromas, rich mid-palate and cool minerality. Touraine: Heartland for red The Vienne River runs parallel along the Loire before turning north to meet it just east of Saumur and here, clasped between the two rivers, Rodolphe Raffault owns four distinct Chinon vineyards. Raffault's father, Jean- Maurice, helped defi ne the various terroirs of Chinon in the '70s and planted Cabernet Franc on the sandy, alluvial soils near the Vienne. Rodolphe's 2008 Le Puy offers violet and lavender aromas, dark cherry, chocolate and tobacco mid-palate that concludes with complex and well integrated oak. His 2008 Chinon Rosé expresses intensity Baumard 2005 Clos du Papillon is a bone dry Savennières with bright acidity and concentrated minerality. Ben Joliveau of Domaine Huet L'Echansonne, one of the best-known wineries in Vouvray. october 2009 / the tasting panel / 71