Loire 2018 preview: appellations to know & top wines
See Yohan Castaing's 2018 vintage preview, plus key appellations and some of the best wines from the vintage...
Loire 2018: Vintage preview
Like everywhere else in France, the 2018 vintage gave grape growers a fright.
The unusually hot spring activated vigour in the vines, but this was followed by a harrowing outbreak of fungal diseases, especially mildew, after heavy late spring rains.’We had a tropical spring with a strong mildew pressure,’ explains Jacques-Antoine Toublanc of Clos Rougeard, ‘then a dry summer with lots of heat’. This left its stamp on 2018 as a hot, solar vintage. ‘We had to prevent the grapes from accumulating too much sugar,’ says François Chidaine of the challenge to limit the alcohol levels.In the end, it was an early, mid-September harvest, producing balanced wines with a lightness of touch and a potential for ageing well in the best examples. It’s worth bearing in mind that wines from producers following a meticulous ‘haute couture’ approach to viticulture will contrast strikingly with those who did not limit yields and practice a draconian selection of their grapes.
Appellations to know
The Loire Valley is renowned as much for its fairytale châteaux as its wines, and for many years the region was the seat of French rule. Its many wine appellations follow the meandering Loire river, the longest in France, and can be approximately divided into three sectors:
The Upper Loire
The homeland of Sauvignon Blanc.
Sancerre
Grape varieties Sauvignon Blanc for the whites, Pinot Noir for the reds and rosés.
Terroir Clay and limestone slopes, Kimmeridgian marl, silex and flinty soils
Top producers Domaine Vacheron, François Crochet, Gérard Boulay, Pascal Cotat, Domaine Vincent Pinard
Pouilly-Fumé
Grape varieties Sauvignon Blanc, plus a small amount of Chasselas under the Pouilly-sur-Loire appellation
Terroir Limestone, silex, marlstone and clay
Top producers Didier Dagueneau, Domaine de Ladoucette, Chatelain, Château de Tracy, Joseph Mellot
The Middle Loire
Famed for its Chenin Blancs, the Middle Loire also produces world-class Cabernet Franc and is home to one of the largest sparkling wine appellations in France.
Anjou, Anjou Villages, Anjou Villages-Brissac
Main grape varieties Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gamay and Grolleau for reds. Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay for whites
Terroir Anjou Villages has schist-based soils for ageworthy reds. Anjou Villages-Brissac stretches overs ten communes, also on schist-based soils
Top producers Domaine Bel Argus, Ferme de la Sansonnière, Domaine Patrick Baudoin, Benoit Courault
Bourgueil
Grape variety Cabernet Franc (up to 10% Cabernet Sauvignon is also allowed)
Terroir 50% gravel terraces, 50% Turonian limestone (tuffeau)
Top producers Catherine & Pierre Breton, Domaine de la Chevalerie, Yannick Amirault
St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil
Grape variety Cabernet Franc (up to 10% Cabernet Sauvignon is also allowed)
Terroir 75% gravel terraces and 25% Turonian limestone (tuffeau)
Top producers Domaine du Mortier, Domaine de la Cotelleraie
Chinon
Grape variety Cabernet Franc (up to 10% Cabernet Sauvignon is also allowed) for the reds, Chenin Blanc for the whites
Terroir Alluvial terraces, limestone slopes and clay soils
Top producers Domaine Bernard Baudry, Domaine Philippe Alliet, Charles Joguet, Olga Raffault
Coteaux de l’Aubance, Coteaux du Layon, Coteaux du Layon Villages, Bonnezeaux and Quarts de Chaume
These five appellations produce sweet wines made from Chenin Blanc, using either late-harvest or botrytised grapes.
Terroir A large diversity of soil types, including sandstone, schist and quartz
Top producers Domaine Richou, Château de Suronde, Domaine Patrick Baudouin, Domaine Delesvaux
Montlouis-sur-Loire
Grape variety Chenin Blanc.
Terroir Turonian tuffeau and clay
Top producers François Chidaine, Domaine de la Taille aux Loups, Domaine de la Grange Tiphaine
Saumur
Terroir Calcareous-clay (argilo-calcaire), with a high clay content
Grape variety Chenin Blanc
Top producers Domaine des Roches Neuves, Clos Rougeard, Domaine Guiberteau, Domaine du Collier
Saumur Puy-Notre-Dame
Terroir The famous tuffeau made up of sedimentary rock from the Turonian era, composed of chalky, sandy marine limestone
Grape varieties Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon
Top producers Château de Fosse-Sèche, Domaine de la Paleine
Saumur-Champigny
Terroir Tuffeau, as above
Grape variety Cabernet Franc
Top producers Clos Rougeard, Domaine des Roches Neuves, Domaine du Collier
Côteaux de Saumur
Appellation name for a tiny amount of sweet wine made from Chenin Blanc
Saumur mousseux and Crémant de Loire
Sparkling wines produced primarily with Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc
Savennières
Grape variety Chenin Blanc
Terroir Schist. Two lieux-dits have cru status: La Coulée de Serrant (7ha) and La Roche-aux-Moines (17ha)
Top producers Eric Morgat, Château de la Roche aux Moines (La Coulée de Serrant), Domaine du Closel, Domaine des Baumard
Touraine
Terroir Large diversity of soil types, including flinty clays, sand and gravel
Main grape varieties Côt (local name for Malbec) and Cabernet Franc for the reds. Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc for the whites. Pineau d’Aunis, Gamay and Pinot Gris for the rosés
Vouvray
Grape variety Chenin Blanc (up to 5% of Orbois is also allowed)
Terroir Calcareous clay (argilo-calcaire), with flint-clay
Top producers Domaine Huet, Domaine Vincent Carême, Domaine du Clos Naudin, François Chidaine
The Lower Loire
Best known for its ‘Sur Lie’ bottlings of Muscadet, produced from the Melon de Bourgogne grape.
Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine, Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire, Muscadet Côtes de Grandlieu, the Muscadet village crus, Muscadet
Grape variety Melon de Bourgogne
Terroir Sandy soils around the lake of Grandlieu, southwest of Nantes. Soils rich in foliated metamorphic rocks such as silica, schist and gneiss. A mosaic of soil types such as amphibolite and gabbro
Top producers Domaine de l’Ecu, Domaine la Fey d’Homme, Domaine Pierre Luneau-Papin, Domaine Haute Févrie, Domaine Les Hautes Noëlles
Yohan’s pick of top Loire 2018 wines to buy:
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Old-vine Chenin Blanc in South Africa
Domaine des Roches Neuves, Clos de l'Echelier, Saumur, Loire, France, 2018
This white wine joins the red also coming from Thierry Germain’s Clos de l’Echelier monopole vineyard plot. The soil is of the local type known...
2018
Domaine des Roches NeuvesSaumur
Domaine François Crochet, Le Chêne Marchand, Sancerre, Loire, France, 2018
This white, the best of the line-up from this domain, comes from a 27ha lieu-dit on limestone soils. Pear notes combine with compelling menthol and...
2018
Domaine François CrochetSancerre
Domaine François Crochet, Le Petit Chemarin, Sancerre, Loire, France, 2018
François Crochet, a former rugby player, is best known for his Sancerre reds, but his perfectly ripe whites are excellent - and this is a...
2018
Domaine François CrochetSancerre
Domaine François Crochet, Le Grand Chemarin, Sancerre, Loire, France, 2018
South-facing vines on limestone are the source for this white Sancerre, which has even riper pear and white peach fruit than Le Petit Chemarin, along...
2018
Domaine François CrochetSancerre
Clos Rougeard, Le Bourg, Saumur-Champigny, Loire, France, 2018
Great sense of fruit purity on the nose, showing a mélange of black fruits. This shows brilliance on the palate, it’s very flavourful, with almost...
2018
Clos RougeardSaumur-Champigny
Domaine des Roches Neuves, Les Mémoires, Saumur-Champigny, Loire, France, 2018
It stands to say that this will prove to be a memorable wine, sourced from old vines planted in 1904 on a siliceous soil known...
2018
Domaine des Roches NeuvesSaumur-Champigny
Domaine des Roches Neuves, Clos de l'Echelier, Saumur-Champigny, Loire, France, 2018
Clos de l'Echelier covers nearly 2ha inside a walled-in clos of terraces with clay-based soil on limestone bedrock. The 2018 is made from beautifully ripe...
2018
Domaine des Roches NeuvesSaumur-Champigny
Clos Rougeard, Les Poyeux, Saumur-Champigny, Loire, France, 2018
Subtle minerality on the nose, and like Le Clos this is showing roasted meat characters segueing into animal, but fainter than Le Clos. The palate...
2018
Clos RougeardSaumur-Champigny
Domaine des Roches Neuves, Franc de Pied, Saumur-Champigny, Loire, France, 2018
Franc de Pied' designates ungrafted vines. This wine, made with whole-bunch vinification, is sourced from a plot planted with 10,000 vines per hectare and farmed...
2018
Domaine des Roches NeuvesSaumur-Champigny
Domaine de la Cotelleraie, St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, Loire, France, 2018
Made with whole-cluster vinification, this as yet unnamed young wine is still in its phase of élevage in 800-litre amphorae. It has a very floral...
2018
Domaine de la CotelleraieSt-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil
Domaine des Roches Neuves, La Marginale, Saumur-Champigny, Loire, France, 2018
Concentrated ripe fruit on the nose, earth and sous bois aromas. Structured on the palate, lean texture, floral notes, sweet spice. Long finish with potential...
2018
Domaine des Roches NeuvesSaumur-Champigny
