The Wine52 Loire Valley Tour

Wine52 know a thing or two about French wine and the Loire is an absolute gem for reasonably priced, quality wine from the French wine scene.

Winemaking in the Loire goes back a long way, from the Romans to Louis XIV, who had his home there at the Château de Chambord. The wine’s popularity came largely thanks to the easy access to the Atlantic along the River Loire which made it a great trading hub for easy boat transport. It is also rather close to Paris meaning that Loire wines were, and still are, sold there in abundance.

All along the River are a number of distinctive wine regions, from renowned ones such as Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume to slightly more pocket-friendly regions such as Anjou or Bourgueil. The distance between the start of the Loire at Pays Nantais to Sancerre is vast, and Spring tends to arrive about two weeks earlier in the far West of the Region than the East. This results in a variety of styles and grapes all along the valley. In this case, once you’ve tried one, you haven’t tried them all.

The Wines:

• Mellow Yellow Chardonnay
• Vifeclat Gamay
• Love at First Sip Merlot

Mellow Yellow Chardonnay

This is a very appropriately named wine indeed hailing from Anjou, known for its fresh, fruity styles of wine. It isn’t the crisp, high-acid Chardonnay of Chablis but nor is it the oaky, buttery Chardonnay of California. This lies in between the two comfortably pleasing both camps.

The nose displays floral aromas of acacia and blossom whilst some tropical and stone fruits bring some lovely, exciting flavour in the form of banana and peach. These carry though well to the palate with the addition of orchard fruits, melon and a nice honeyed note which glazes over the wine. This is all kept held together by a mineral backbone giving a balanced undertone to the wine.

Vifeclat Gamay

This one comes from neighbouring Touraine which tends to be a touch warmer than Anjou resulting in slightly riper grapes. Gamay is the grape that is used to make Beaujolais, which might give you the hint that this is a light, fruity wine perfect for Summer. It’s even worth putting in the fridge for 30mins to an hour if its particularly hot.

This one is made by Caves Saint-Georges who have had the same chief winemaker since 1995. That’s some winemaking knowledge to hand! This is classic Gamay with bubblegum and raspberry bursting on the palate. Glacier cherry and blackcurrant bring slightly darker fruit notes whilst a little hint of violet imparts even more nuance. Nonetheless, this is an ideal wine for hot weather with its fresh, fruity finish.

Perhaps my favourite of the case too!

Love at First Sip Merlot

This one is also by Caves Saint-Georges showing their skills on another fairly light grape, Merlot. You might find love on first sniff with the jammy fruit flavours of cranberry, cherry and garrigues evoking the wilderness of the Loire Valley.

On first sip, I was surprised by the spiced note. Surprised, but very pleased as it gave a great deal more complexity than I was expecting. It had real bite and depth in its earthy, spiced quality. On top of this, the fruit provided a fantastic backdrop to prevent it becoming too heavy and stuffy and balanced out the spice remarkably well such was its freshness.

It's worth pointing out that once you have your monthly subscription you can upgrade to a 6 case even. That way you'll get to try a number of wines from all over the Loire and future cases. Click the button below to find out what your latest case is and you can get it for free!