Loire 2021 red wines: vintage report and new releases

Dense and powerfully black fruited, this has some wood notes, good ripe tannins and a long finish. This is a lovely wine and is only the straight domaine cuvée. Given the consistent quality of his wines – both white Saumur and Saumur-Champigny – Jean-Pierre Chevallier is remarkably modest as well as being highly principled. His top cuvées are only released when they hit the required quality. In difficult vintages everything goes into the ‘domaine’ wine. The now organically certified Château de Villeneuve is based in Souzay-Champigny by the Loire river in the northern part of the Saumur-Champigny appellation. The Cabernet Franc for this ‘domaine’ wine is between 40-50 years old and planted on clay-limestone. The grapes are handpicked. After fermentation, 60% is matured in 40-hectolitre wooden vats and the rest in concrete and stainless steel.

This remarkable 2020 is their 'basic' red Sancerre. This deep coloured wine has ripe black fruit notes with a lovely opulent mouth-filling texture. The tannins are ripe, well rounded and the finish is long. Domaine Vincent Pinard is now established as one of the very top Sancerre producers both for their Sauvignon Blancs and the Pinot Noirs. The father Vincent now takes a back seat, with his sons Clément and Florian running the 17ha domaine, with 12.5ha of Sauvignon Blanc and 4.5ha of Pinot Noir.

The well-balanced 2020 Le Haut de la Butte is aged in oak barriques. It has black cherry and blackberry aromas, a ripe and full texture, and well worked tannins. It can be drunk now but will develop further in bottle. In 2002 Jacky Blot bought the 15ha Domaine de la Butte in Bourgueil. With the exception of Le Pied de la Butte, the vines are on the clay limestone coteaux facing south. Le Haut de la Butte is at the top of the vineyard protected from north winds by trees, well exposed but not quite as well as Mi-Pente – the central block. The domaine has swiftly become one of the best in the Bourgueil appellation.

Notes of black fruits including black cherry, raspberries and some delicate wood notes with a rich texture and a long finish. This fine Sancerre red has the potential to age well. The 10.8ha Domaine La Croix St Laurent in the vignerons’ village of Bué was established in 1932. 65% is planted with Sauvignon Blanc and 35% Pinot Noir. The average age for the Sauvignon Blanc vines is 35 years, while for the Pinot Noir it is 43. The Pinot Noir is picked by hand. After fermentation 50% is aged in 600-litre eggs and 50% in 500-litre oak barrels for 12 months.

Youthful purple in colour, with seductive black fruit aromas, especially black cherry, a lovely soft opulent texture and ripe tannins. This is a delicious wine to enjoy with friends – a true vin des copains! Antoine Sanzay is based in Varrains, just to the south of Saumur. He is the seventh generation of the family to grow vines. Sadly his father died young. Antoine joined the domaine in 1999. At that time the grapes were sold to the St Cyr co-operative. Bit by bit Antoine ended those contracts until by 2013 he could vinify all his grapes from his 1ha. Antoine has become one of the stars of Saumur. La Paterne is an easy drinking Saumur-Champigny that sees no wood and is bottled after maturing for nine months.

Black fruit aromas along with some light wood notes, supple mouth-filling texture, ripe tannins and good length with good ageing potential. Les Chiens Chiens comes from a parcel of Cabernet Franc planted on limestone. The grapes are hand picked and after fermentation aged in 400-600-litre barrels – Jérôme is keen to use as little new wood as possible.

Vibrant and rich, this has attractive spicy black fruits, good length and has the potential to develop further in bottle. Domaine des Pothiers, in the village of Villemontais, has existed for centuries. However, it is only fairly recently that growing and making wine has been the principal activity; like many other farms in this area, polyculture was the norm. There are 22ha of vines and 70ha devoted to raising cattle. The domaine is now run by Romain Paire, who joined his parents in 2005. He has planted more vines and converted the domaine firstly to organic viticulture and then to biodynamics. This is aged for eight to 12 months in a mix of concrete tanks and tapered wooden vats.

The still very youthful, dense 2020 has powerful, ripe black fruits, a rich texture and a long finish. The organic Domaine Yannick Amirault was established in 1936 and now has some 20ha, two thirds in Bourgueil and one third in St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil. Yannick has been running the domaine since the 1990s. He was joined in 2003 by Benoït,his son. The domaine is recognised as one of the top producers of Loire Cabernet Franc. The vines, planted on flinty soil over limestone in the 2ha Le Grand Clos parcel, average 45 years old with low yields averaging around 30 hl/ha. Fermentation is in tapered wooden vats before maturing in 400-litre barrels for between 12 and 18 months depending on the vintage.

A powerful, deep coloured wine made using carbonic maceration. It has sweet, spicy black fruits and a marked Gamay character, good structure with ripe tannins and a long finish with a good potential to age. The Jean-François Mérieau domaine now has more than 35ha on the left side of the Cher Valley. It is based in Montrichard at the famous Cave de la Boule Blanche, which used to belong to négociant and grower Paul Buisse. Jean-François Mérieau took over the family domaine in 2000 after working for a number of well-known vignerons like Patrick Ducournau in Madiran and fellow Loire producer Alphonse Mellot. He and his wife Emilie now run it together.

Dense and powerful, this is still very youthful. It has concentrated rich black fruits and a long finish. Ir needs time to knit together fully and should be given at least another two years in bottle. This domaine has long been organic. The Cabernet Franc for Petra Alba is planted on clay-limestone on south-facing slopes. Yields are between 40-45 hl/ha. During fermentation the wine spends 50 days on its skins and matures for 18 months before bottling.

Ripe and black-fruited with good texture, although the wine is still quite tannic, needing more time in bottle. Good potential to age. The winery of Le Clos des Quarterons is in the centre of the village of St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil. The domaine is run by Xavier and Agnès Amirault – the sixth generation of the family to run the 34ha biodynamic estate since it was founded in 1840. They have parcels of vines in both St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil and Bourgueil. The 4.5ha Clos de la Gaucherie in Bourgueil is in the village of Restingé and was acquired in 2020. The vines are planted on a mix of limestone and sand/ gravel.

Black fruit aromas and an opulent texture, with medium structure and good ripe tannins. Although not a heavy weight, the 2020 will age a surprising length of time as have other vintages of Domaine de la Perrière. Baudry-Dutour, run by Christophe Baudry and Jean-Martin Dutour, is the largest producer in Chinon. The 25ha Domaine de la Perrière has been in the Baudry family for centuries – since 1664. The vines are on the low-lying gravels laid down by the River Vienne and the domaine is in conversion to organic viticulture.

Irréductible is 100% Pineau d’Aunis, whose light, peppery charms have become fashionable. The juicy, easy drinking 2021 has attractive peppery aromas. Light-bodied, this is a delicious summer wine, which is best served chilled. This comes from a 1ha limestone parcel in the village of Chenonceaux. It is vinified in 800-litre amphora.

With its vibrant, youthful purple hue, this is full of black fruit aromas, with a ripe fruit texture and slightly grippy tannins, so needs a little more time in bottle. Couly-Dutheil, along with Baudry-Dutour, are the two leading producers in Chinon. Couly-Dutheil dates from 1921 and now has around 100ha of vines. The domaine is now run by Arnaud Couly with advice from consultant oenologist Anne Blain.Together they have improved the tannin management of the wines, which used to be marred by bitter, unripe tannins. They pick late, which can mean that while the tannins are ripe the alcohol levels are high. The Cabernet Franc for the 2020 Les Gravières d’Amadour Abbé de Turpenay is picked by hand and after fermentation the wine is aged in vats.

This medium-bodied 2020 has attractive aromas of ripe fruit – red cherry and strawberry – with some smoky wood notes and ripe tannins. The 23ha Domaine des Rabichattes was founded in 1869 and is now run by Fabrice and Vincent Grebet. The domaine is based in the steeply sloping vignerons’ hamlet of Les Loges, which is right beside the Loire river. The domaine is now in conversion to organic viticulture and should be certified in 2023. In 2016 the Grebets acquired 3ha (1.5ha of Chardonnay and 1.5ha of Pinot Noir) in the IGP Côtes de la Charité, to the northeast of La Charité-sur-Loire. The Pinot Noir vines, planted on clay limestone, are 20 years old. This wine is aged for 12 months in oak.

This charming and well balanced 2020 Tradition comes from 20-year-old vines. It sees no wood and has attractive smoky Cabernet Franc aromas, some structure with ripe tannins. Domaine la Bonnelière in Varrains close to Saumur was created in 1972 and now has 41ha, which are mainly planted with Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc. It is now run by Cedric and Anthony Bonneau. They have some 30ha in the Saumur-Champigny area, including vines in Les Poyeux made famous by the Foucault brothers of Clos Rougeard. The domaine's wines are always very good value for money.

Smoky red fruits aromas, followed by a decent mouth-filling texture. It’s medium-bodied with ripe tannins, although the wine needs more time in bottle to show its best. The best reds from Lamé Delisle Boucard have a remarkable potential to age. Lamé Delisle Boucard was founded in 1869 in the village of Ingrandes de Touraine in the Bourgueil appellation. The domaine is now run by Philippe and his wife Patricia, as well as Stéphanie, Philippe’s sister, and her husband Eric. They have 47ha divided up into 61 parcels, which from 2021 is now certified organic. The Cuvée Vieilles Vignes comes from a mix of soils, in part from the clay limestone of the coteaux and the rest from gravel. After fermentation the wine spends a year in large wooden vats.

This powerful wine is deep coloured with concentrated black fruits along with notes of violets and prunes. It is still tight in the finish and ideally needs a little more time in bottle. Côt, otherwise known as Malbec outside the Loire, is the most successful red variety in terms of quality in eastern Touraine, especially in the Cher Valley and around Amboise. It ages well but it is easily affected by poor weather during flowering. There are a few parcels of Côt that are now well over 100 years old. Cent Visages comes from a 2.5ha parcel of 50-year-old Côt. Jean-François Mérieau uses micro-bullage, a technique he would have learnt when working for Patrick Ducournau, to soften Côt's tannins.

The Domaine des 7 Lieues Côt (Malbec) is a successful, very good value wine from Beaujardin, as the 2020 underlines. Deep coloured, it has black fruit notes, a rich, mouth-filling texture with ripe, well-worked tannins. Although it can be drunk now, it would be best to give the 2020 a little more time in bottle. The Cellier du Beaujardin in the small town of Bléré in the Cher Valley is a small, successful co-operative offering a range of very good value wines. It was founded in 1923 and now has 200ha of vines across seven villages on both banks of the River Cher. Cellier de Beaujardin owns about half of the vineyards giving the director – Kévin Vigne – and his team direct control over the quality of grapes produced. In 1991 they created the Domaine des 7 Lieues, which is a selection of their best parcels across the seven communes.

Appealing red fruit and spicy aromas, an attractive mouth-filling texture balanced with refreshing acidity. This is a good, easy drinking summer red. The dynamic and far-sighted Vincent Roussely is the fourth generation of the Roussely family to own this domaine, which is based in Angé on the south bank of the River Cher a little to the east of Montrichard. Vincent took over the 8ha domaine in 2001, which has been certified organic since 2007. Sauvignon Blanc makes up 80%. The Canaille Gamay comes from 40-year-old vines planted on clay-limestone with a yield of 35 hl/ha. Picked by hand, part is vinified using carbonic maceration and the rest is classical fermentation.

Red fruit aromas with some sooty notes, this is medium-bodied with an attractive texture and ripe, well handled tannins. This is a good example of an Anjou Rouge. The 28ha Domaine Cady, which is based in the commune of St-Aubin-de-Luigné in the Layon Valley, was founded in 1927 and is now run by the talented Alexandre Cady. Unfortunately disaster struck during the night of 1 April 2021 when an electrical fault caused a fire that destroyed the winery and most of the wine stocks. With the help of friends the Cady family are in the process of rebuilding. The domaine is organic and the harvest is entirely hand picked. The Anjou Rouge is 100% Cabernet Franc. It spends 10 days on the skins and then the wine matures for between three and six months in vat.

Le Temps des Cerises is the domaine’s easy drinking cuvée de printemps. It’s got ripe black fruit aromas including notes of black cherry, and has considerable structure for an easy drinking red. However, it is well balanced with the ripe fruit continuing through the long finish. The yet to be bottled 2021 is lighter bodied.

A youthful and vibrant 2021 that has spicy Gamay notes and a medium structure. It needs a little more time to show its best. Lionel Gosseaume’s Domaine de Pierre started life in 2007 with 9ha of vines. This has now grown to 35ha. However, the vineyards he took over had been in existence since the end of the 19th Century. This 100% Gamay Les Marcottes comes from 45-year-old vines planted on sandy soils. Pruned hard, the yield is kept down to 25 hl/ha. The grapes are hand picked and fermented for two weeks using carbonic maceration. The wine is then aged in tank for several months before bottling.

Designed to be an easy drinking Saumur-Champigny, it spends just six days on the skins and is bottled in the spring. It has ripe, red fruit notes and a light structure – a summer wine best served chilled. Château de Targé has a dominant position overlooking the village of Parnay and the Loire. The Pisani-Ferry family can trace their connection with the château back to 1655. In 1976 Edouard Pisani-Ferry took over the running of the estate. He reduced the yields and expanded the area under vine. In 2016 Edouard’s son Paul joined. In 2020 Château de Targé became certified organic. The 2020 Clos St Père is the first vintage of this wine, which comes from quite an old parcel of Cabernet Franc planted on clay and flint that slopes slightly southwards.

This is aged for 12 months in barriques and has attractive spice and wood aromas along with some sweet, ripe fruit. Still young, this needs a little more time for the wine to knit together. The Warm Up Syrah Volcanique is a recent addition to Desprat Saint-Verny’s range. Syrah works well in the Auvergne – no surprise as these vineyards are on the same latitude as the northern Rhône.

A mid-plum coloured, powerful 2020 that has soft red fruit aromas and is well balanced, although it needs a little more time in bottle to soften. Domaine des Bérioles is a leading and exciting domaine in Saint-Pourçain. The domaine started life in 1976 when Olivier Teissèdre bought the farm in the little village of Cesset to the west of the town of Saint-Pourcain. Initially Olivier grew cereals. However in 1989 Odile, his wife, decided to diversify and planted some vines. In 2011 their son Jean joined and started to vinify the grapes and sell the wine. In 2015 Sophie, Jean’s sister, and her husband Jérôme also joined. The domaine now has 17ha of vines. Auvenat is the local name for Pinot Noir.

Light in colour with red fruits aromas and notes of raspberry. Lightly structured but there are some quite dry tannins that need time to soften. Domaine de Reuilly began in 1935 when Denis Jamain’s grandmother settled in Reuilly and started to plant Sauvignon Blanc. In the early 1990s Denis took over and started to expand the domaine. There are now 23ha of vines – 14ha of Sauvignon Blanc, 5ha of Pinot Noir and 4ha of Pinot Gris – used to make the delicate, pale coloured rosé that is a Reuilly speciality. The domaine was certified organic in 2007 and achieved biodynamic certification in 2011. Les Fossiles comes from a 4ha parcel of Pinot Noir planted on clay limestone facing due south. Native yeasts are used and the wine matures in stainless steel for eight months.

This has a really pleasing texture with quite a tannic structure, so needs either some more time in bottle to soften or strong flavoured food to hide the tannins. The Ardoise cuvée is a blend of 90% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon from 25-year-old vines on blue schist. The wine is matured in stainless steel for seven months before being bottled.

A soft wine with typical spicy Gamay aromas. This is an uncomplicated, light-bodied wine that should be served lightly chilled. Les Vignerons de Saint-Pourçain was set up in 1952 and with its 100 members is responsible for a substantial majority of the production of the Saint-Pourçain appellation. La Ficelle, a blend of 70% Gamay and 30% Pinot Noir, is very much a fun wine – one to share with friends. The first vintage was in 1987 and the wine is always launched on the first Saturday of December. Each year the bottle has a different design.

Red fruit and smoky aromas, good texture, medium weight with currently quite grippy tannins, so needs time to soften. This Schistes Anjou-Villages cuvée comes from a group of small parcels of vines planted on schist, totaling one hectare averaging 35 years old. The grapes - 90% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon - are picked by hand as late as possible to achieve maximum maturity. The wine is matured in barriques.

Grown on schist, the easy drinking 2020 Côt (Malbec), which is an IGP Val de Loire, is soft and juicy with some light tannins. Best served lightly chilled, especially in the summer. The 60ha Domaine des Rochelles dates back to the 19th Century and is based in the village of St-Jean-de-Mauvets. However, it wasn’t until 1940 that the Lebreton family decided to give up polyculture and just concentrate on vines. Jean-Hubert Lebreton, the sixth generation of the family to be involved, is now in charge. Rochelles is now certified organic.