Decanter World Wine AwardsQuarts de Chaume to become Loire Valley's first Grand Cru
- Thursday 13 October 2011
Image: Jim's Loire
On 28 September the national committee of appellations body the INAO approved the proposal. It now awaits the signature of the French minister of agriculture for final approval.
At the same meeting the creation of Coteaux du Layon Premier Cru Chaume was approved. Both decisions were unanimous.
There are strict rules for both Quarts de Chaume and Coteaux du Layon Premier Cru Chaume. These include no chaptalisation and yields of 20 hectolitres per hectare for Quarts, and 25hl/ha for Chaume.
Alcohol levels are 18.5 minimum potential alcohol for Quarts and 16.5 for Chaume.
Two previous attempts to elevate Chaume to a cru status have failed due to successful legal challenges by leading Anjou producer Domaine des Baumard.
The French courts annulled the AC Chaume Premier Cru in 2005, and Coteaux du Layon in May 2009.
The Baumard family had claimed successfully that these distinctions for Chaume devalued Quarts de Chaume and created potential confusion for wine drinkers.
Claude Papin, president of the Syndicat Quarts de Chaume, told Decanter.com, ‘Quarts de Chaume grand cru recognises our conviction the typicité of our wines should come from a respect for the terroir and the climate of each vintage and not from wine-making techniques.
‘This is a very important development that opens the way to creating crus throughout Loire, providing they have similarly strict rules.’
Have your say!
J Watson
November 14 21:42
There was a time when classification was a mark of assurance that the wine was a quality wine if the vintage was a good one. When you had a poor year the classification did not help the flavor of the wine.
I have found that over the many years in the wine business, Frank Schoonmaker’s comments to me long ago, has always held true. “ Classifications are nice but it is the individual wine maker that makes great wines even in poor years they can sometimes make good wine.”
Whatever the decision, the consumer is the one who makes the final decision to buy or not buy a producers wine. You might fool them with a classification in the beginning but once they branch out to other producers in the area, their nose and taste buds will make the final decision on the wine they continue to taste, whether those wines qualify for a classification or not.
Chris Miller
October 17 22:02
Ah the politics of wine, St-Emilion has had plenty of issues with their system in the past decade. And what about Bonnezeaux?
I hope the value of these great sweet wines stay intact a bit with the new designation, I am not confident though.
R Reeder
October 14 22:03
We'll see if we need to care about the new designation. I already considered Quarts du Chaume among the grand cru of French sweet white, with Coteau du Layon for sure in the premier cru slot. I am excited in general at the prospect of the Loire Valley gaining classifications!
Panos Kakaviatos
October 14 19:13
Congratulations. The Loire makes superb wines. I also love their prices.