Loire reds 2022 plus top new releases

Throughout the Loire, heat and drought during the summer months were a defining feature of the 2022 growing season. Thankfully, rain that fell in August was a welcome relief, allowing healthy grapes to ripen fully while preserving freshness.

As with the whites, quantities of the reds are variable depending on the extent of April frost damage to certain pockets, as well as soil type, age of the vines, and tendency of producers to rely on chemical herbicides. This is a very good quality vintage across the board, with the potential to be one the greats.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for Jim Budd’s top 30 Loire reds of 2022 and 2021

Top red producers of 2022 and 2021

Château de Villeneuve – Saumur-Champigny

Domaine de la Butte – Bourgueil

Domaine de la Noblaie – Chinon

Domaine Yannick Amirault – St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil

Vincent Pinard – Sancerre

Anjou-Saumur

Drought and extreme summer heat were the dominant factors here, as with most other areas, as Jean-Pierre Chevallier, of Château de Villeneuve, recounts: ‘2022 was a particularly hot year where the lack of water did not spare us, having an impact on our yields. The long-awaited arrival of the rain in August was invaluable in obtaining good quality grapes, giving us everything we needed to make great wine.’

Touraine

Early April frosts did not generally have severe consequences apart from in the western part of Touraine, around Chinon, where bud-break was further advanced than in the east.

Getting the picking date right was very important as alcohol levels rose rapidly and grapes could soon become over-ripe. This is confirmed by Yannick Amirault, who makes wine in Bourgueil and St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil: ‘The 2022 vintage brought new records for precocity with our Cabernet Franc, but also for drought. The year was marked by several forest fires. Fortunately the grapes did not suffer from these extreme conditions, but the timing of grape maturity was very precise.’

The early bottled reds are already attractive to drink, while the more ambitious wines won’t be released until later this year or into next but are concentrated with a fine potential to age.

Good examples of early bottled 2022s include Le Temps des Cerises Chinon from Domaine de la Noblaie, Domaine des 7 Lieues Moncartier from Cellier du Beaujardin, Cote 50 Bourgueil from Domaine Yannick Amirault and the Cabernet Franc Anjou from Domaine Cady.

Centre & Upper Loire

Despite a mild winter, there were two early April frosts, with temperatures as low as -6C, which would have had devastating effects had bud-break started properly by then.

The Pinot Noirs should be delicious to drink young, with the more ambitious wines needing time in bottle, with a great potential to age well.

The quality of the 2022 vintage extends to the Upper Loire, as Ambroise Demonceaux from Clos de Breuilly in Saint-Pourçain explains: ‘The 2022 vintage will be exceptional for us both in terms of volume and quality. We have not been affected by frost or hail and after a fairly dry summer we got 50mm of rain three weeks before harvest which, along with the healthy soils and fairly old vines (20-70 years), helped bring grapes to perfect maturity.’ The 2022 Eclat de Granite, Côte Roannaise from Domaine Sérol confirms Demonceaux’s optimism.

Top value reds of 2022 and 2021

Cellier du Beaujardin, Domaine des 7 Lieues Moncartier, Touraine 2022

Domaine Cady, Cabernet Franc, Anjou 2022

Domaine de la Noblaie, Le Temps des Cerises, Chinon 2022

Domaine des Forges, Anjou 2022

Jean-François Mérieau, Le Bois Jacou, Touraine 2022

Loire red wines: know your vintages

Since 2014 the Loire has been blessed with an unprecedented series of good to great vintages.

2018

Hailed as a great vintage, which generally combined quality and quantity, although the alcohols on some reds are high. 5/5.

2019

This is another good-quality vintage, although frost-affected, with attractive reds that are drinking well now but with the potential to age. 4/5.

2020

Another hot vintage with many good, concentrated reds but some that lack freshness and high alcohols due to the grapes being picked too late. 5/5.

2021

A cold spring with severe early April frosts led to a return to a more traditional Loire vintage with picking starting considerably later than many of the recent vintages, with more marked acidity in the wines. The reds are more tricky than the whites. There are some real successes here, for example Domaine de la Butte (Bourgueil), Château de Villeneuve (Saumur-Champigny) and Vincent Pinard (Sancerre). Others lack fruit concentration combined with high levels of acidity. 4/5.

2022

This is a very good vintage, possibly one of the best, but more time is needed to judge. The early bottled reds are very promising and the more ambitious cuvées should be too, although they won’t be bottled for a while. 5/5.

Jim Budd’s top Loire reds from 2022 and 2021:

Related articles

• Loire 2021 white wines: vintage report and new releases
• Loire 2021 red wines: vintage report and new releases