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Wine By Region Europe France Loire   Anjou   Muscadet   Touraine   Upper Loire

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The Loire Valley, which was highly regarded across the wine world even before the Bordeaux region was, is still considered one of the world's best places to find white wine. Generally made from Chenin Blanc or Sauvignon Blanc, the firm, unique dry whites of this region offer impressive flavors and, usually, very good prices. The Chenin Blancs of Vouvray, arguably the Loire's most famous appellation, are among the most ageable in the world, with advocates claiming they can develop for more than 100 years.

The Loire Valley lies in northern France, stretching horizontally across almost all of the country and bordering the Atlantic Ocean in the west. Many vineyards lie on the midsized Loire River, as do many of the scenic towns of the region. With so many microclimates, there are many different types of wine that can be made. Although still dry white wine makes up the majority of exports, sweet wines, dessert wines, and the occasional strong, distinctive red wine are also seen.

A few outstanding red wine appellations aside, the main attraction of the Loire is the whites. From the grape Sauvignon Blanc, the bitter but remarkably energetic and flavorful wines of Pouilly-Fumé and Sancerre are popular. Chenin Blanc, however, is the most common white grape here, and in appellations like Vouvray it can be amazingly versatile and productive.

It's easy to be put off by the high number of appellations (there are 93, only about a dozen less than Burgundy), but the Loire is nowhere near as complicated an appellation as Burgundy. The rules are not as restrictive, and there are hardly any tiny, extremely distinct microclimates or terroirs like one sees in Burgundy. It's better to celebrate the Loire for its great range than to avoid it due to its complications.

The Loire is actually a small region considering its significant influence in the wine world, with only 185,000 acres of plantings in comparison to, say, the Languedoc's 700,000. However, the density of the vineyard plantings is extremely high. Quantity and quality combine in this region; despite the fact that many of the wines are mass-produced, Loire juice is generally considered reliable.

The Loire Valley has had a long and fruitful history. When the Romans settled the region in the 1st century, they began planting grapes. It is not known what types of grapes they planted or how successful they were. By the 5th century, wines in the Loire had become highly regarded. Though techniques were hardly advanced, the wines nonetheless showed better flavor than others in that time.

At some point during the Middle Ages, Sancerre came to be considered the finest dry white wine in the world, or at least in France. But Bordeaux really came into its own in the 1700s and 1800s due to the installation of railways all across France, and their wines were immediately deemed more robust and exciting.

In more modern days, the Loire has fallen back and is considered a place to find wine of high but not outstanding quality, a solid reserve location that still can't compare for world-class juice to Bordeaux or Burgundy. The slightly bitter, unfriendly natures of many of the wines, especially from Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc, means that some patience is required when drinking Loire wines. Yet with white wines becoming more affordable, this is also becoming a place to find world-class whites at good values. Compared to appellations like Sauternes, Vouvray is practically a bargain region, and many underrated wines are to be found here.

As the name suggests, the Loire Valley is a valley. It is enormous in size, but not that much of the area is actually under vine, meaning that the Loire's actual planted acreage is not as high as one might expect. Most of the best wine appellations, with Sancerre a notable exception, are located in the western half of the region. The western half of the western half contains the Muscadet appellation, but most of the best appellations are located closer to the middle of the appellation. Anjou, Coteaux du Layon, Chinon, Saumur, Savennières, Touraine, and Vouvray are all towards the center of the valley.

The actual climate of these appellations, however, still is very distinct, and an intimate description will be found on their specific pages. Despite a differential in climate, these wines' fresh but slightly bitter flavors are often considered homogeneous. The reason for this is not the climate, but the techniques used to produce the wines. Lengthy oaking and fermentation is frowned upon in the Loire, and as a result the wines are presented in a much more natural fashion. Considering the general trend towards oaking in places like Burgundy and California, the Loire is probably now the best place to find unoaked white wine in the world.

Two white grapes dominate the proceedings in the Loire: Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc. The Sauvignon appellations are more famous, especially Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, but many more appellations use the Chenin Blanc grape. Probably the most famous of these is Vouvray, which is known for its ageable, impressively produced Chenin. Little-known grape Mélon de Bourgogne is used to make the idiosyncratic wines of Muscadet.

Red wines are almost entirely made from Cabernet Franc, for example Chinon, but arguably Cab Franc's most well-known usage here is in rosé, for example, the outstanding blushes of the Anjou. Occasionally used red grapes are Gamay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Pinot Noir.

The Loire has a number of major producers, however, many of the producers making the top wines in an appellation generally only make wines within that appellation. Examples are Domaine des Aubuisières in Vouvray, Patrick Baudoin in Anjou, Château des Chaintres in Saumur-Champigny, Couly-Dutheil in Chinon, Domaine de l'Ecu in Muscadet, and Alphonse Mellot in Sancerre.

A few producers have significant range, two good examples being Domaine des Baumard and Château Pierre-Bise. Neither of them, however, have holdings in the entire Loire, so in this respect the Loire Valley is very dissimilar to areas like Burgundy and much closer to smaller, more equitably divided regions like Bordeaux.

Although categorization of the Loire is tricky, Loire wines basically fall into four (admittedly massive) categories: Anjou-Saumur, Muscadet, the Touraine area, and the Upper Loire. The complete, fully expanded list of the Loire's major appellations is below, with explanations and summaries of each region covered on the site.

• Anjou: This region encompasses most of the center of the Loire, and is also known as Anjou-Saumur. The entire region makes wine under the Anjou AOC; the most well-known of these is the popular, flavorful Rosé d'Anjou. Made from the grape Grolleau, which is obscure and exclusive to the Loire, the slightly sweet wines are simple but fun. Dry white wines and red wines, many of which come from the Anjou-Villages AOC, are also promising.
  • Coteaux du Layon: Some of the greatest sweet wines in the world are made in the Coteaux du Layon and its subregions. Although the production process is complex and convoluted, it usually turns out impressively sweet, rich Chenin Blancs that rival Sauternes in many ways--except price!
    • Bonnezeaux: Small and exclusive, the Bonnezeaux region covers similar sweet wines to the Coteaux du Layon region that completely contains it.
    • Chaume: After some controversy, the 320-acre Chaume region has been made a Coteaux du Layon Premier Cru rather than an AOC of its own.
    • Quarts de Chaume: Quarts de Chaume is known for its exclusivity, and with good reason, since its fantastic wines are grown on only 74 acres of prime land. Ultra-intense, they are better off aged for many years, and are comparable to Sauternes in terms of their ability to develop over time.
  • Saumur: These wines are also produced from Chenin Blanc, but the region is much less well-known than Anjou and Coteaux du Layon. Dry and minerally, the best Saumurs have bright, vivid fruit. Reds and rosés are also made, albeit in a much less intense style.
  • Savennières: Solely white Chenin Blanc, these mercilessly intense wines have been compared to Chablis for their exhilarating metallic taste. For firm devotees, Savennières is an irreplaceable appellation.
• Muscadet: Aged on their lees for up to year, these idiosyncratic wines are not regarded very highly by wine critics due to their lightness, but many consumers love their yeasty, bizarre taste. Requiring schist soils, the source grape Mélon de Bourgogne is rarely planted anywhere else. The unusual Muscadet region has gained the wine equivalent of a "cult following."
• Touraine: The massive Touraine region contains one great white wine region and several good red wine regions. The Touraine AOC itself is obscure, with overly strict regulations making use of the appellation unpopular. Little rosé is produced; most of the wines are either white (Sauvignon Blanc is the best) or red (Cabernet Franc is interesting).
  • Bourgueil: One of the few appellations in the Loire where white wine is actually not allowed; these are only red and rosé wines from Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Franc actually does better here, making austere but powerful and ageable wines.
  • Cheverny: An obscure but increasingly interesting wine region. Many styles of wine are made; the most unusual come from local grape Romorantin.
  • Chinon: These Cabernet Franc-based red wines showcase the grape at its finest: earthy, ageable, powerfully styled, yet also fairly soft and easy to drink. In fact, this is one of the top spots for Cab Franc in the world. It's also the Loire's best appellation for affordable red wine.
  • Jasnières: Although mildly obscure, the Jasnières appellation contains some impressive, and often reasonable, dry Chenins. Unfortunately, little of the wine is exported.
  • St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil: Extremely similar to the neighboring Bourgueil, this appellation has pretty much the same rules--no white wines!--and the same taste, although the wines can be both less austere and less ageable.
  • Valençay: The Valençay appellation makes remarkable Gamays but remains obscure in most of the world.
  • Vouvray: Arguably the most famous appellation in the Loire, Vouvray is an extraordinarily impressive white wine area. The Chenin Blancs vary from extremely sweet to bone-dry, and the best part is all of these styles are high-quality. All have penetrating, unique flavors and can age well, for at least 10 years. Some wine critics even claim that the sweet wines will last 100 years, although this is disputed.
• Upper Loire: The Upper Loire, although not necessarily greater on technical merit than the Touraine and Anjou-Saumur areas, has more name recognition with the famous Pouilly-Fumé and Sancerre. This is simply a landing page for the six appellations found within the Upper Loire.
  • Orléans: Around 200 acres are dedicated to this appellation, which has only held official AOC status since 2006. Right now it remains extremely obscure, but the simplistic wines made from Burgundy grapes are pleasant enough.
  • Pouilly-Fumé: Pouilly-Fumé wine is the inspiration behind the Fumé Blancs of California and the Sauvignon Blancs of New Zealand. The original appellation for Sauvignon Blanc, it remains impressive despite New World competition. With its crisp, green flavor and the definitive Sauvignon Blanc "tang", as well as a distinct nuance of smoke, the wine basically defines the mainstream style of the grape. Not to be confused with Pouilly-Fuissé, a Chardonnay appellation in Burgundy.
  • Pouilly-sur-Loire: An appellation that only sounds like Pouilly-Fumé--the wines are made from Chasselas!
  • Quincy: All Sauvignon Blanc here; this is a pretty obscure appellation, but there's no reason it couldn't catch on and share the spotlight with Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. In fact, the wines show surprisingly complex flavors with less intensity than most Sauvignon Blancs.
  • Reuilly: Sauvignon Blanc is again the prime grape here. The Sauvignons are dry and sometimes unforgiving, but nonetheless technically impressive in the eyes of the grape's fans. Interestingly, reds from Pinot Noir and rosés from Pinot Gris are made here as well.
  • Sancerre: Located right across the Loire river from Pouilly-Fumé, Sancerre shares many similarities with Pouilly. Both make crisp, green styles of Sauvignon Blanc, although the trademark smoke characteristic of Pouilly-Fumé is usually missing in Sancerre wines. These wines are less intense and have lighter, more refreshing fruit; they are also slightly more expensive.