Loire
The Loire valley is home to a wide range of wines, from Muscadet in the west, through Saumur-Champigny and Chinon, to Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé in the east.
Scroll down to see the latest Loire content
Grapes
The diversity of the region is evident in the assortment of grapes used.
Melon de Bourgogne is used for Muscadet, while Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc feature heavily in appellations such as Vouvray and Saumur-Champigny.
By the time you reach Sancerre at the eastern end of the valley, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc are more commonly found.
Appellations to know
The Loire Valley’s many wine appellations follow the meandering Loire river, the longest in France, and can be approximately divided into three sectors:
The Upper Loire
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
Pouilly-Fumé
Grape varieties Sauvignon Blanc, plus a small amount of Chasselas under the Pouilly-sur-Loire appellation
Terroir Limestone, silex, marlstone and clay
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
Bourgueil
Grape variety Cabernet Franc (up to 10% Cabernet Sauvignon is also allowed)
Terroir 50% gravel terraces, 50% Turonian limestone (tuffeau)
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)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
Montlouis-sur-Loire
Grape variety Chenin Blanc.
Terroir Turonian tuffeau and clay
Saumur
Terroir Calcareous-clay (argilo-calcaire), with a high clay content
Grape variety Chenin Blanc
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
Saumur-Champigny
Terroir Tuffeau, as above
Grape variety Cabernet Franc
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)
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
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
Quick Links Loire Wine Reviews | Loire Valley travel guide
-
-
Burgundy hit by 'worst frost since 1981'
Worst frost in 30 years may hit 2016 harvest.
-
Top Loire Cabernet Franc wines
Six top wines to try....
-
Sauvignon Blanc Grape - Climatic, Winery Influence, Most important regions - WSET Level 2
-
Honouring the biodynamic legacy of the late Anne-Claude Leflaive, Clau de Nell
-
Loire producer Bouvet Ladubay returns to family control
-
Loire winemaker Claude Lafond dies
-
Pouilly Fumé winemaker to fight INAO over right to use AOC
-
Top 10 Sancerre red wines to try
-
Loire wine producers barred from using Vouvray name
Leading Loire winemakers François Chidaine and Jacky Blot have been banned from vinifying their Vouvray wines in the neighbouring commune of Montlouis.
-
First taste: Six wines to try from Rhone, Languedoc and Loire
This week, I popped in on a 'new to market' tasting of regional French wines in London. I love these tastings because you get a sense of how exciting regional French winemaking is at the moment from the Loire and Alsace down to the Languedoc. So, here are six of the most interesting and impressive wines I came across.
-
Biodynamic winemaker Joly to cut ties with Loire body
Loire Valley winemaker Nicolas Joly has said he will withdraw his vineyard of the La Coulee de Serrant from the region's wine trade body after accusing the group of failing to respect organic and biodynamic wine producers.
-
DWWA 2014: Loire judging panel
Find out about our Decanter World Wine Awards 2014 Loire judging panel with biographies of the Regional Chair Jim Budd plus Andy Howard MW, Beverley Blanning MW, Chris Hardy, Chris Kissack, Margaret Rand, Rebecca Palmer and Stephen Skelton MW.
-
DWWA 2014 Regional Trophy: Sweet Loire over £15
This year's Decanter World Wine Awards Regional Trophy for Sweet Loire over £15 went to Château la Varière, Les Guerches, Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru 2011 (11%)
-
DWWA 2014 Regional Trophy: White Loire under £15
This year's Decanter World Wine Awards Regional Trophy for White Loire under £15 went to Les Vignerons du Pallet, Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Le Pallet 2009 (12%)
-
Rebel Loire Valley winemaker fined two euros
A Loire Valley winemaker who disobeyed France's appellation system has escaped with only a token fine, in what his lawyer described as a 'slap in the face' for officials.
-
Loire winemakers win Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru battle
France's highest court has quashed opposition to the creation of a Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru in the Loire, and producers hope it could prove a blueprint for the region.
-
Loire winemaker faces fine for defying appellation body
Prosecutors in France's Loire region have asked for a local winemaker to be fined for allegedly tricking consumers by wrongly linking his vin de table to the appellation controlee system.
-
Loire 2013 harvest 'difficult and complicated'
Many producers in the Loire will be crossing their fingers for next year after a ‘difficult and complicated’ 2013 harvest, but there could still be some attractive wines.
-
Hailstorms decimate Loire vines
A hail storm at in the early hours of Monday morning has caused widespread damage across much of the Loire communes Vouvray and Reugny.
-
Decanter travel guide: Loire Valley, France
Fancy a Sleeping Beauty château with your crottin? Fiona Sims picks some of the food and wine highlights of the Central and Upper Loire.
