Loire: Touraine
La Loire is such a vast river that not only are there many appellations within the valley, there are also several sub-regions. Add a large number of tributaries—Le Cher, La Vienne, L’Indre are significant rivers in their own right, while smaller rivers such as Le Loir, La Sèvre, Le Maine also have important influences on local grape-growing conditions—all makes the Loire Valley an incredibly diverse region.
The river begins 100km north of the Mediterranean Sea, flowing up towards the industrial cities of Clermont-Ferrand and St-Etienne. By this point, the land is at lower elevation but gentle slopes rise up from the river for aspect and to aid ripening. After several small but historic appellations, the river passes through Sancerre and Pouilly-Fuissé, onwards to Orléans—a lovely commuter town, once an important port for deliveries of wine to Paris. Here, it bends westwards towards the Atlantic and finds itself in the Touraine sub-region.
To look at the Loire Valley in the opposite direction, Touraine is where the Atlantic influence fades and then ends completely as the valley becomes wholly continental. The Atlantic climate is cool and maritime, felt most keenly in Muscadet and to a slightly lesser extent in Anjou-Saumur. The famous village of Vouvray in the centre of Touraine is where the maritime influence gives way to a continental climate. The centre-west of Touraine is where Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc dominate; to the east of Vouvray, Sauvignon Blanc takes over due to the climate and changed growing conditions.
touraine
Touraine takes it name from the city of Tours, which lies in the centre of the region by La Loire—although this is also where Le Cher joins the longer river. The overall Touraine appellation produces some excellent value wines, though this can overlook the history and quality of the region. In recent years, several small appellations, often with the name of a famous château in their name, have been created to highlight the localised differences within the region. Ones to look out for include Amboise, Mesland, Chenonceau, and Cheverny (uniquely made from the local variety Romorantin).
producer profile: vincent roussely
Vincent Roussely’s great-grandfather bought a vineyard a week after the First World War armistice. He clearly had ambitions, and wasn’t afraid to experiment—there remains a small chimney-like structure in the vineyard to throw grapes down the chute into the cellar, a practical if not effective alternative to gravity-flow pressing.
Vincent is faithful to his family’s traditions, with sheep, goats, chickens, horses, and a donkey on the property, while being cognisant of modern trends. The old cellars dug by his great-grandfather out of the limestone soils have had stainless steel tanks inserted inside the rocky vats. Two amphorae vessels were bought from Italy, but when a small portion of clay soils were discovered within the cellar they were used to make new amphorae. Uneven at first, there are now four, forming part of Vincent’s experimentation based on the local land which his family have been farming for over a century.
clay amphorae
the amphora at the front was the first to be made, hence its uneven shape; the fourth, at the back, is just right
Clos Rousselly are within the Touraine-Chenonceau appellation, not too far from the famous château. Sauvignon Blanc is the main variety here, for a very fresh, crisp, lightly fruity style, though lacking the concentration and depth of the more famous appellations. The reds had more interest: the Gamay was fun, approachable, and fruity, while the Pineau d’Aunis had a lovely crunchy, tannic texture and characteristic black pepper aromas—Pineau d’Aunis is a Loire variety that everyone needs to know about. try: “L’irréductible” Rouge—a light, spicy, peppery, herbal Pineau d’Aunis that has a light grip (✪✪✪✪✪).
Vouvray
One of the most famous Loire appellations, Vouvray is a broad appellation that pans out from the rather forgettable village that lies on the northern side of the Loire. Everything is Chenin Blanc and nothing else, but there’s the full range of wines made: dry, off-dry, sweet, sparkling, youthful, aged. Producers also make wines from Vouvray that don’t fall under appellation rules (for example, red wine) which are labelled Vin de France.
producer profile: champalou
Champalou was founded in 1984 by Catherine and Didier Champalou; they had just 1.5ha of vineyards, now there are 24ha. The winery has quickly established a reputation as one of Vouvray’s best, with a very natural approach in the vineyard. The 1980s were dark days for the Loire, with industrial farming producing dilute, green wines with overly high yields. Among others, Champalou championed a more traditional means of farming and that can be seen in the crisp, pure wines that could only come from Vouvray. A delicious Brut is made, coming from three consecutive vintages and spending two years on the lees (✪✪✪✪✪). The range of Chenin Blanc gives an idea of Vouvray overall. The Sec has a touch of sugar to give the wine a light richness (✪✪✪✪). “Les Fondreaux,” which comes from silex soils, is richer and weightier, also with some sugar to give body and texture (✪✪✪✪✪). “Le Portail” is much drier and aged in some new oak (Champalou are also experimenting with Transylvanian barrels), for a creamy, toasty style with fleshy stone fruits (✪✪✪✪✪).
chenin blanc
the leaves of Chenin Blanc are quite distinctive, almost like a three-leaved shamrock
Montlouis-sur-Loire
On the other side of the river is Montlouis, a small, pretty village. The wines, which are also all Chenin Blanc, get overlooked because of Vouvray but they are quite different because of aspect and soil type. The pétillant style of sparkling wine dominates, because the north-facing slopes make full ripeness difficult, but there are tense, lean still wines made too, less generous than Vouvray and an interesting comparison. Despite being just the other side of the river, the soils in Montlouis are quite different: more limestone in Vouray, more flint in Montlouis.
producer profile: françois chidaine
François Chidaine inherited 4ha of Montlouis in 1989; he now has 30ha across Touraine, including Vouvray (those wines are labelled Vin de France). He’s been at the centre of a transformation in the image of Montlouis from being in Vouvray’s shadow to being a serious appellation in its own right. The winery has been certified biodynamic since 2003, and the wines are a defined reflection of where they come from—tasting the range gives a clear idea of the differences between Vouvray and Montlouis. Baudoin Vin de France (Vouvray) comes from limesone soils with a little bit of clay, and is intense, grainy, crisp, and high acid (✪✪✪✪✪). “Les Choisilles” (from Montlouis) means “little flint soils” and that can be tasted in the wine: flinty, gunsmoke aromas and a linear, quite serious texture (✪✪✪✪✪).
Bourgueil/Chinon
Bourgueil and Chinon lie next to each other, north of the river Loire, but they produce quite different wines even if they’re both Cabernet Franc. Chinon has two broad soil types: near the two rivers (the town itself lies on the river Vienne), the soils are quite sandy, producing lighter wines; further up on the slopes, the soils are more limestone based and the wines are more structured and tannic. These soils are similar to Bourgueil, though there the tannins are considered a bit softer, the fruit riper. In both cases, the light body means the wines can be enjoyed now but have the structure to age for decades.
producer profile: catherine & pierre breton
Catherine and Pierre Breton are doyens of the natural wine movement, though their wines are precise and clean. The winery is in Bourgueil, with wine also coming from Chinon just to the south and Vouvray further along the river. A whole range of wines is made—sparkling, rosé, Chenin from Vouvray, and Cabernet Franc from both Bourgueil and Chinon. Perhaps their most famous wine is “Nuits d’Ivresse” (“drunken nights'‘) which is aged for one year in troglodyte caves and is made completely naturally without the addition of any sulphites. Yet it is completely clean, fresh, fruity, spicy, and herbal, and very easy to drink (✪✪✪✪). The line-up is exceptional across the board—and they make a lot of different wines—but perhaps my favourite was “Franc de Pied,” which is made from 35-year-old ungrafted vines planted on sandy soils as an experiment. There’s a firm, tannic grip which backs up the ripe, crunchy black fruits with added complexity from herbal, sweet spice aromas (✪✪✪✪✪). A wine that goes down very easily, but can be revisited in ten years—just like the best Loire.
