White wines of the Loire Valley
The Loire Valley is a geographical region stretching 250 km from east to west, along the Loire River to its mouth in the Atlantic Ocean. The area is full of wide green pastures and along it you can find no less than 300 castles. But not only history exists in the valley, but some of the great wines of France and the world in general. The cold climate of the valley ensures an acidity perfectly balanced with the concentration of fruit flavors, in every style – from dry wines to sweet wines. They all share the same characteristics: freshness, refinement and food friendliness. The region has two main varieties of white grapes: Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc. Among the most important appellations in the Loire are Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, where the amazing Sauvignon Blanc of the Loire is produced. Wonderful Chenin Blanc wines come from Appellation Vouvray, Savennières and Saumur. The area also produces wonderful red wines, mainly from Cabernet Franc grapes, which we will not cover here.
Anjou- Saumur
The Saumur region is located in the center of the Loire. Most of it is planted in Chenin Blanc with an emphasis on sparkling wines as well as dry white wines. Dessert wine has an excellent reputation in Anjou wineries. All of them are made of Chenin Blanc and are infected with “noble rot”. Don’t get confused, it’s the good kind of rot that gives a rich hue and aromas of nuts and honey. Pleasure.
Nicolas Joly
Nicolas Joly is a kind of divine figure in the world of biodynamics and natural wine. After graduating from Columbia University in New York, Nicolas worked at the brokerage firm J.P. Morgan as an investment banker in New York. Despite his senior position and generous financial rewards, Nicolas chose to return home to his family estate in Savennières in the Loire Valley hoping to become a winemaker. He intuitively knew that the estate was unique, but at the time the wines it produced did not express this specialness.
Upon his return, Nicolas was visited by an official from the Bureau of Agriculture. “He told me that my mother ran the estate well, but in an old-fashioned way, and now it’s time for some modernity. He said if I started using herbicides, I would save a lot of money.” Joly took his advice, but quickly regretted it. “Within two years, I realized that the color of the soil was changing; Insects were no longer there.” Joly likened the state of the herbicide-treated vineyards to a perpetual, lifeless winter even in summer. Somehow, fate intervened. Joly came across a book about biodynamics. “I wasn’t attracted to the green movement, but I was fascinated by this book, and I had a crazy idea to try to implement this concept.” As a result, Nicolas Joly has been biodynamically cultivating his estate since the early 1980s, and many credit him with the popularity of this movement in the wine world.
On the differences between biodynamics and organics, Nicolas says: “‘In biodynamics, we connect the vine to the frequencies it needs – like tuning a radio, we direct the plant to frequencies that bring it life. Organic allows nature to do its job; Biodynamics allows it to do his job even more. It’s very simple.”
Nicolas Joly’s biodynamic philosophies are also reflected in his winemaking. “The more you help the vine do its job, using living soil, choosing the right vine and avoiding toxic treatments, the more harmony there will be. If the wine captures that harmony well, you have nothing to do in the cellar: potentially everything is already there.” He chooses to use natural yeast instead of yeast cultures: “Reusing yeast is absurd. If you were stupid enough to kill your natural yeast, you lost something from that year.” Apart from mixing the yeast in wine (batonage) and coarse filtration, Nicolas does not interfere in the creation of the wine at all. Due to his biodynamic belief, Joly disapproves of the label “winemaker” so much that his business card reads “Nicolas Joly, a nature assistant, not a winemaker”.
Coulée de Serrant (AOC Single Vineyard) is a 900-year-old vineyard planted by Cistercian monks and has always had vines growing there. This 7-hectare vineyard is a monopoly of the Joly family estate and produces three great wines, all 100% Chenin Blanc.
Virginie Jolie, Nicola’s daughter joined her father in 2002.
Clos de la Bergerie 2013
In the nose, waves of aroma of exotic fruits, oranges and spices rise to complexity. Powerful and concentrated. Has a long finish. Made from 20% grapes infected with botrytis and therefore has residual sugar despite being defined as a dry wine. These wines require prolonged aging before they can be enjoyed. I gave a score of 93. RP 93
Clos de la Coulée de Serrant 2021
So young and already so complex. A blend of smells of smoke, spices and flowers. Medium to full-bodied, powerful and concentrated. I gave a score of 94. RP 94, WS 91
Clos de la Coulée de Serrant 2018
In the nose rise waves of many and varied fragrances that create great richness and complexity. In the taste the botrytis is noticeable, saltiness and concentrated and generous fruit. One of the best white wines I’ve tasted. The grapes were harvested in five rounds to achieve optimal ripening and include 8% botrytis. I gave a score of 95-96. RP 96, WS 95
DOMAINE DES BAUMARD
The ancestors of the Baumard family cultivated the vineyards from the 16th century. The modern revolution in the winery is related to Jean Baumard, a science graduate, the real founder of the current wine estate. After training in Dijon and Bordeaux, he began to expand the vineyard by purchasing plots in the prestigious appellations of Anjou. Adopting viticulture practices that in the 1950s were remarkably advanced—such as high-density planting and early forms of disease management, which predated the sustainable viticulture movement. Jean Baumard’s innovative spirit also led to the early adoption of screw corks, a radical departure from the normative bottling practices of his time, and signaled a commitment to wine preservation and quality consistency.
Since the 1990s, oversight of the estate has passed to Jean’s son, Florent, who continued to build on his father’s innovative and sustainable vineyard management ethos. Florent advocates fine extraction and squeezing the whole clusters. The result is creamy, phenolic wines that can age well.
Clos de Sainte Catherine 2013
Some complexity, apple, melon and peach. Medium sweetness. Full body. Alive and kicking. I gave a score of 94. WS 92
Quarts de Chaume 2015
The fragrances are still closed. A lot of power and elegance. Apple, mango and peach. Fills the mouth with hedonistic sweetness. Long finish. I gave a score of 94-95 WS 98
Quarts de Chaume 2010
Powerful aromas of bloom. Full body. Wonderful wine. An incredibly long finish. I gave a score of 93. WS 96
Quarts de Chaume 2007
Nose closed. Very powerful. Mango and papaya. Long finish. I gave a score of 94, WS 93
Domaine Belargus
“This is one of the most spectacular new entries in the history of The Wine Advocate. Domaine Belargus is a name that should soon populate the world’s finest wine lists.” Stephan Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate
The revolutionary winegrowers of Anjou-Saumur
Many young winemakers have purchased vineyards in the Loire region over the past decade. They often came from completely different professions, whether they were engineers or chemists. They all had a huge passion for winemaking and working with their hands and nature. For their new profession, they chose the Loire Valley. The proximity to Paris, where the family lived, tempted them. But above all, the Loire Valley is a beautiful landscape. Its wine scene is extremely dynamic and sometimes anarchist and this is what attracted these new settlers. They don’t necessarily feel the need to stick to traditions, anything is possible, they feel free to produce authentic wines, committed to nothing, but only to their terroir. They are positioned far from the official starting point of the system, which adheres to conventional agriculture but does not agree to wine-making experiments.
The Story of Ivan Massonnat from Domaine Belargus
Ivan did not taste wine until the age of 20, although he grew up in an agricultural area surrounded by vineyards and his father was a vintner. As a child, he remembers the smells of the wine cellar and the joy of family harvest. In his early 20s, wine became a passion for him. He wanted to learn as much as possible about winemaking, so he went to study with wine merchants in the big cities of Paris and London, rather than vine-growers. Because his work in finance was rewarding, he had the means to start realizing his dream of becoming a vine- grower and winemaker. A few years ago, he bought a house in the Chinon area of the Loire, because the place is beautiful and it is close to Paris, where he worked. Gradually he and his wife fell in love with the area, the good food, wine and the castles. Over time, the family’s roots deepened in the soil and culture of the Loire. Although he loved his work in Paris, he could not ignore his passion for wine and decided to realize his dream. The problem in France is that buying a quality vineyard is almost an impossible task. If the vine-grower decides to sell, the buyer will first be a family member, and if no family member is interested, the next priority will be the neighbor, and if not, then a villager, but certainly not a stranger coming from Paris. The only area where quality land could be purchased was the Anjou Black region, which had a large stock of land for sale. The area used to focus on dessert wines, which have lost their luster in the last twenty years. Apart from sweet wines, the region produced simple dry Chenin wines produced from vineyards that yielded large quantities of low-quality grapes and the public was fed up with them too. This began to change in the 1980s, when pioneering winemakers realized that there was potential for quality wine in the region. For two years, Ivan would hop every weekend from Paris to Anjou, see dozens of plots for sale and had to “kiss a lot of ugly frogs,” as he put it. One snowy morning, he was invited by Jo Pithon, one of Anjou’s pioneers of quality wine, to look at a vineyard called Quarts-de-Chaume. On the way to the meeting, Ivan cursed in his heart that he had agreed to this freezing meeting, when he was already supposed to be on the high-speed train to Paris, for a warm weekend with his family. But when he arrived at the vineyard, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He realized that this is it, he is no longer continuing his search, this is the vineyard he is buying. Jo, the seller, was about to retire and it was important to him to sell the vineyard to someone who would continue his dream. Quarts-de-Chaume cost Ivan 10 times more than any vineyard offered in the area, but today the wine produced from this plot is the winery’s best. In the past, on the top of the hill there was a monastery that owned the vineyards below. The vineyards lessees had to pay the monastery a lease fee of a quarter of the best wine produced on the leased property. The origin of the vineyard name Quarts-de-Chaume is named after that qualitative plot growth, paid as tax to the abbey from all the vineyards in the Chaume region. Ivan hired a young and enthusiastic team who still work at the winery today. The winery is still young and made a total of 5 vintages, but the first vintage was already a dizzying success that caught the eyes of wine lovers and experts from around the world. Although the winery focuses on dry wines, Ivan still believes in dessert wines, even though the public buys them less, due to “health propaganda”. According to him, when people blindly taste dry wine and semi-dry wine, they will always prefer the sweeter. He believes that in the long run, the pendulum will swing and dessert wines will return to fashion. Since he is building his winery a century ahead, he chose to continue producing dessert wines as well. When public opinion changes, it will find himself center stage, even if it happens decades from now.
VOUVRAY
Some claim that Vouvray’s Chenin Blanc wines are the greatest wines in the Loire. The wines age for many years and in great harvests, even decades. Some wines are dry, some dry with a touch of sweetness, some are semi-dry or half sweet.
Champalou Vouvray
Family Story
Catherine Champalou says the beginning was difficult for them. Although she is the twelfth generation in a family of winemakers, the tradition is that upon the death of the parents, the estate passes to the boys and Catherine was left without a vineyard. So Didier, her husband and she purchased a vineyard and established the Champalou winery in 1984. After the first harvest was bottled, they couldn’t sell the wine, as the winery was unknown. Catherine went to Paris with a few boxes, passed from bar to bar and offered the owner to taste the wine. That’s how it all began. Over the years, after the winery was established, Céline, the daughter studied winemaking in the Cognac region and later went on to study at wineries around the world. After several years of grazing in foreign fields, she called her parents and said, “Now I know what wine I don’t want to make” and joined the family winery.
For 16 years, the daughter and her parents have been working together in harmony at the winery, with Céline as the winemaker. If she needs advice, she consults them, but she has her way. Since childhood, she always knew what she wanted, Catherine says. In this she resembles her father, he does not talk much, but when he wants something, he says it and does it. The tastes in the family do not always come together, for example Céline likes dry wines while Catherine prefers semi-dry and sweet wines. Maybe because I’m softer and sweeter, Catherine jokes. Catherine loves living in the area, which is characterized by a sense of community and family. Perhaps this is also why Céline returned to live her life here with her family.
Vouvray 2022
Flower scent. Round and elegant. A little residual sugar. I gave a score of 92
Vouvray Le Portail 2020
Some complexity. 18 months in barrels. Definitely not classic in the method of preparation. Smells of quince and toasted brioche. Medium, balanced and harmonious body. Nice finish. I gave a score of 93
Vouvray Les Fondraux 2022
Some complexity. Lacking balancing acidity. Nice finish. Semi-dry. I gave a score of 93
Vouvray Trie de Vendange 2003
Late vintage style. Mango and fig flavors. Thick and full-bodied, but vivid. Long finish. I gave a score of 94. WS 93
SANCERRE
This is perhaps the Loire most famous wine region for Sauvignon Blanc wines. Sancerre is at the eastern end of the valley, where Sauvignon Blanc is fresh, green, citrus, lemon and mineral. If Chablis is the most desirable Chardonnay in the world right now, then Sancerre is undoubtedly synonymous with the most sought-after Sauvignon Blanc, in an elegant and crisp style.
POUILLY
The Pouilly area is located on the right bank of the river, while on the left bank Sancerre is located. White Pouilly wines are traditionally produced mainly from Sauvignon Blanc. Forget tropical guava or passion fruit aromas, which are common in New World Sauvignon Blanc such as New Zealand. We are in the eastern part of the Loire, in the Pouilly-Fumé and Sancerre regions which are a global benchmark for this variety. Here you will find in your wine the aromas of green apple, minerality of flint stone that sometimes feels really smoky. Winery owners age the wines for several years in cellars before marketing, in order to sharpen the flavors of the wines, which also enhances the aromas of the spices in them.
While Sancerre usually has a lean body and vibrant acidity, Pouilly-Fumé, on the other hand, boasts a medium-sized body, with flavors that tend to be floral or smoky. The main reason for the difference in tastes is the soil. In the Sancerre region it is characterized by limestone, which is responsible for the mineral flavors in the wine. The soil in Pouilly-Fumé is characterized by flint, which stores heat, causes rapid ripening of the grapes and is responsible for slightly smoky flavors.
Michel Redde, Pouilly-Fumé
The Redde family has been a family of winemakers in this region for 13 generations and are among the most respected wineries in the Loire and one of the leading producers in terms of quality. Today, the two Redde brothers, Sebastian and Romain, manage the vineyard and winery. Sebastian is responsible for the winemaking and his brother for the vine-growing. However, important decisions are made together. The labels were designed by the grandfather, Michel, who was also an artist.
The vineyard is characterized by three types of soil: limestone, from which comes the minerality and salinity. The flint gives spice and smoke flavors. The body and richness come from Kimmeridgian limestone with fossils. The vineyard looks like one big dry field. In 2021, when they prepared a new vineyard, they came across a huge rock of flint. It was so big (50-60 tons) that they had to blow it up with dynamite.
LA MOYNERIE POUILLY -FUME 2019
Bursting smells of blossoms and citrus. Apricot, exotic fruit and minerality in medium body. Long finish. I gave a score of 94, WS 90
LE CHAMPS DES BILLON BLANC FUME DE POUILLY 2020
Long finish. Barrell aged. I gave a score of 93-94
LES BOIS DE SAINT-ANDELAIN BLANC FUME DE POUILLY 2020
Complex. Smoky smells, flintstone, with grapefruit, honey and plum. Still young and requires at least 4-5 years of aging. I gave a score of 94.
MAJORUM POUILLY-FUME 2020
Complex nose. In the mouth grapefruit flavors. Powerful. A long and fascinating finish. A combination of two types of soil: flint and clay. Vines at the age of 50 years. The winery’s flagship series, which is bottled only on excellent vintage years. I gave a score of 94.
But what do you do in the valley other than wine tasting?
Not only wine exists in the valley, but many different options for recreation: cycling, hiking in pastoral and peaceful natural landscapes, guided tours accompanied by locals, hot air balloon hovering over the beautiful and impressive Loire castles that come hand in hand with a rich culinary culture and excellent French cuisine.
If you are looking for a central place to be in the Loire Valley from which to do star trips, you should consider the city of Tours, as it is a relatively easy city to reach and easy to leave to most places in the Loire Valley. Tours old town has many classic buildings, mostly centred around the pretty main square full of cafés and restaurants.
Blois is home to a charming five-star boutique hotel called Fleur de Loir. This is a new hotel with a restaurant that has already been awarded two Michelin stars. Set in a 17th-century hospital building overlooking the Loire River, the hotel has two restaurants, a pastry bar, shop, spa and 44 rooms and suites.
Castles of the Valley
In the early 14th century, during the Hundred Years’ War, King Charles VII retreated to the Loire after the English took control of Paris, and the French royal court remained in the valley for the next two centuries. With its mild climate, good hunting and healthy distance from Paris (not too far, not too close), the Loire became fashionable among the wealthy and Parisian aristocracy. When the long war ended and peace and prosperity followed, the fortified castles of the region were replaced by pleasure palaces, and in the 15th century the castles became a display of wealth and bragging of the kings and nobles of France. In the French Revolution, when the King of France was forced to part with his crown and head, some of the castles were looted and destroyed. Of the approximately 300 castles built in the Loire Valley over the years, only some have survived.
“The Valley of the Kings” it is called and for good reason, kings lived, fought and were buried there, noble castles adorn the entire Loire Valley and it sometimes seems impossible to throw a stone without hitting another castle. Some of them are still home to nobles, others have been turned into luxurious and polished hotels and some into museums.
The visit to the Loire will usually be accompanied by a visit to a number of castles, each according to his daily castle-absorbing capacity. And although each castle is different from the other, Chateau-Hopping is not worth exaggerating. Two châteaux, maybe three, is the recommended daily dose, with the main ones being: Cheverny, Chambord, Villandry and Chenonceau.
Château de Chambord, the largest castle in the Loire Valley, was built in the 16th century by King Francis I in a Renaissance style. The castle is surrounded by Europe’s largest enclosed forest park, a bountiful hunting reserve for wild deer and boar. It contains about 440 rooms, 365 fireplaces and 84 artistic and beautiful staircases. Rumors attribute the design of the staircases to Leonardo da Vinci, who lived in the castle for a time as the king’s guest. You can tour the castle and get an impression of it independently or as part of organized tour groups
The Chateau de Cheverny was built in the 17th century and beautifully represents the design of the period, including some of the most impressive furniture of its period in the Loire Valley’s castles. Pay attention to the dining room, on the walls of which the plots of Don Quixote are painted. The surrounding area was used as a hunting area. The favorite part of many visitors is the daily feeding of the Marquis’ 100 hounds. The palace remains under the ownership of one family at all times, and family pride is evident in its immaculate preservation and intimate feel. Cheverny was saved from looting in the French Revolution, as the owners were popular, among poor farmers in the area. The Marquis and his family still live in the castle.
Château de Chenonceau is located right in the heart of the Cher River. The castle has two sections, on each of the banks of the river, and another section built as a bridge connecting them. The sight is beautiful, especially when the river water is calm and the magnificent structure is reflected in the mirror. On one bank a forest surrounds the castle and on the other are wonderful gardens. At night, the gardens are illuminated with colorful lighting that gives them a special charm. Called the “Women’s Castle,” it has been the home – and workplace – of many famous women over the centuries. Most of the design decisions of the main building were made by the wife of the original owner, as he often traveled in the service of the king.
As beautiful as Château de Villandry is, no one visits it to see its architecture or interior design, but because of its beautiful Italian Renaissance gardens decorated in a variety of geometric shapes. For example, the vegetable garden, where vegetables are arranged in different colors and rose bushes are arranged thoughtfully into geometric paintings that are striking in their accuracy. In the “Garden of Love” the shapes of the four beds symbolize the different states of love: tender, tragic, passionate and fickle love. In addition, there is a herb and medicinal plant garden, a maze made of neatly trimmed shrubs, and a forest surrounding the entire complex. In the forest there is an observation deck from which you can look out over the gardens – which can also be seen from the towers of the castle itself. It is recommended to visit the site in spring and summer, when the blooms are raging in all the colors of the rainbow.
