la loire / le loir
I've often written about how much I love the Loire Valley—it was the first French region I visited when I was growing up. The cool climate leads to high acid wines that aren't too fruity, which is just my style.
It's a bit more complicated than that though. When I first visited as a child in the 1980s, quality was low, the wines seen as simple and quaffable. It was only in the 1990s that producers began to increase quality through better viticulture and winemaking. blackpoolmatt's wine club has some new wines from those producers who have made the Loire one of the most fashionable regions in France.
Michel Brégeon Muscadet Sèvre et Maine 2023
The Muscadet region is around the city of Nantes, once the capital of Brittany. It has long been associated with basic wine drunk locally or in Paris, but since the 1990s several producers have explored the terroir of the region and its different soil types to demonstrate that great wine can be made there. The most significant quality appellation is Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, named after the two rivers that flow into Nantes and the Atlantic.
Michel Brégeon was one of the pioneers of quality Muscadet. He started making wine in the 1960s, and established his own winery in 1975. The trend then was for inexpensive, basic wine but his ambition was to make the best wine possible and to transform the reputation of Muscadet. He retired in 2010, and now the winemaker is Fred Lallier who shares the same ambition.
Brégeon's Muscadet Sévre-et-Maine that's now in the club is classic: aged on the lees for a biscuit, toast texture, high in acid, low in alcohol (11%), and very lean. It comes from the village of Gorges, which is one of the seven "Crus Communes." The village is on the river Maine, and there are just 20 wineries based there. It has a unique soil type called gabbro, which is bluish-green of volcanic origin. Producers like Michel Brégeon show that the character of Muscadet can truly be expressed.
Pascal Janvier "Rosier" Coteaux du Loir 2023
Rivers are very important in the Loire Valley, affecting the growing conditions in a positive way to aid ripening. La Loire is the longest river in France, starting just 100km north of the Mediterranean, but there are many other rivers too. Confusingly, one of the tributaries of the Loire is called Le Loir, masculine rather than feminine. The wine region around the river is called Coteaux du Loir; it's further north and therefore very cool. That leads to wines with lots of acid, as is typical of the Loire Valley.
Pineau d'Aunis is a black grape variety planted in Coteaux du Loir. It's a variety related to Pinot Noir and has similar characteristics: pale in appearance, red fruit aromas, light-bodied, just ripe tannins, herbal, and best drunk slightly chilled. New to the club is Pineau d'Aunis from Pascal Janvier, a producer I've long admired. This is not an easy region to make wine in, and there has to be a determined commitment to making the best wine possible—which is consistently apparent in the wines of Pascal Janvier. The wines from Chenin Blanc are very special, but the Pineau d'Aunis is always a draw.
Catherine & Pièrre Breton "La Dilletante" Vouray 2023
Catherine and Pièrre Bréton have been making wine in the historic Loire regions of Chinon, Bourgueil, and Vouvray since the 1990s, farming with organic and then biodynamic practices—making them pioneers in a region now reinvigorated by experimentation. Without producers such as Catherine and Pièrre, the wines could be as insipid and underripe as they were in the 1980s.
The "La Dilettante" label was created by Catherine and Pièrre for more experimental bottlings, but it has become an integral feature in their small production labels. This Chenin Blanc comes from a forty-year-old 5ha limestone vineyard, farmed biodynamically and hand-harvested. It’s fermented with native yeast and there is very little addition of sulfur. The wine is honeyed and waxy with stone fruit aromas, classic Loire Chenin Blanc.
I'm visiting the Loire Valley in May and I look forward to tasting these wines and many more!