Loire 2018 preview: appellations to know & top wines

Loire 2018: Vintage preview Like everywhere else in France, the 2018 vintage gave grape growers a fright. [subscriber-content]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.

[breakout]Sancerre[/breakout] 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

[breakout]Pouilly-Fumé[/breakout] 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.

[breakout]Anjou, Anjou Villages, Anjou Villages-Brissac [/breakout] 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

[breakout]Bourgueil[/breakout] 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

[breakout]St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil[/breakout] 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

[breakout]Chinon[/breakout] 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

[breakout]Coteaux de l’Aubance, Coteaux du Layon, Coteaux du Layon Villages, Bonnezeaux and Quarts de Chaume[/breakout] 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

[breakout]Montlouis-sur-Loire[/breakout] Grape variety Chenin Blanc. Terroir Turonian tuffeau and clay Top producers François Chidaine, Domaine de la Taille aux Loups, Domaine de la Grange Tiphaine

[breakout]Saumur[/breakout] 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

[breakout]Saumur Puy-Notre-Dame[/breakout] 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

[breakout]Saumur-Champigny[/breakout] Terroir Tuffeau, as above Grape variety Cabernet Franc Top producers Clos Rougeard, Domaine des Roches Neuves, Domaine du Collier

[breakout]Côteaux de Saumur[/breakout] Appellation name for a tiny amount of sweet wine made from Chenin Blanc

[breakout]Saumur mousseux and Crémant de Loire[/breakout] Sparkling wines produced primarily with Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc

[breakout]Savennières[/breakout] 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

[breakout]Touraine[/breakout] 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

[breakout]Vouvray[/breakout] 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.

[breakout]Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine, Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire, Muscadet Côtes de Grandlieu, the Muscadet village crus, Muscadet[/breakout] 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: [/subscriber-content] [wine-collection] You may also like: Top Dry Loire Chenin Blanc: Panel tasting results Top Loire Cabernet Franc: Panel tasting results Old-vine Chenin Blanc in South Africa