Loire wines: made for sunny weather

A recent trip to the Loire has reminded me what a brilliant area it is for summer drinking. For a couple of days in mid-July temperatures around the Loire hit almost 40°C – days when I and a group of fellow wine educators were driving around the region in a minibus with no air conditioning. Never have I been so keen to explore producers’ cellars.

And yet, in all that heat, the wines we tasted offered fresh fruit flavours offering plenty of refreshment – yes, even the red wines, which were universally served fridge cold.

The Loire appeals to my greedy side, as the collection of regions make a wide variety of wine styles, encompassing sparkling wines, rosés, whites from bone dry to lusciously sweet and those refreshing reds. You can see why Loire wines would be my Desert Island Discs luxury can’t you?

What to look out for? The 2015 vintage was warm, resulting in some super-ripe wines. The excellent 2016 vintage is available now and is what you should look for if refreshment is what you’re after. The Wine Society is running an offer on a range of 2016s until 10^th September, including this juicy red.

Touraine Rouge “Le Bécassou” Domaine des Echardières 2016 - £8.95 from The Wine Society

I would save this for a sunny weekend lunch and serve it slightly chilled (I don’t think we’re in danger of anything approaching 40° for a while). Its crisp cherry fruit is great with cured meats and rubs along well with the kind of picnic style lunch that you can eat indoors or out, depending on the weather. Touraine reds are often made from Gamay (the Beaujolais grape), which can come as something of a surprise. Here it’s topped up some Cabernet Franc and Malbec to give extra structure and fruit definition.

The other Cabernet

In most wine lovers’ books, Cabernet is shorthand for Cabernet Sauvignon, one of wine’s global superstar varieties. However, there is another Cabernet, rather less celebrated, that deserves more recognition – and which might just be on its way to coming out from the shadows: Cabernet Franc.

With such similar names, you might imagine that these two Cabs are related, and you would be right. It might surprise you to know, though, that it is Cabernet Franc that is the genetic daddy, and Cabernet Sauvignon the young pretender.

Cabernet Franc is an ancient variety that seems to have originated in the Spanish part of the Basque country and at some point it headed north to Bordeaux, where it retains a stronghold. Once there it got together with Sauvignon Blanc and the result was Cabernet Sauvignon.

Bordeaux is all about blends, so Cabernet Franc is usually found in a supporting role there and is rarely the headline act, even if its influence is key. Further north, in the Loire Valley, Cabernet Franc gets to sing solo in famous red wine appellations such as Chinon, Bourgueil and Saumur Champigny.

New World winemakers have not, it has to be said, fallen over themselves in their rush to plant Cabernet Franc. But those who have tried, and got it right, are making some delicious, fresh, perfumed and juicy wines that could be stars in the making.

Here are some of my favourite Cabernet Francs, ranging from their French homeland to the foothills of the Andes.

Les Nivières Saumur Cabernet Franc 2014 - £8.99, Waitrose

This is an ever-reliable Waitrose stalwart that demonstrates the variety’s appealingly fresh, sappy red fruit character. This is a perfect summer lunch wine (come on sun!).

Domaine des Roches Neuves “Terres Chaudes” 2013 – around £22 from Les Caves de Pyrène (Guildford) and other independent merchants

This is the other face of Cabernet Franc – here there is elegance, but also ageworthiness and power from a leading organic and biodynamic estate in Saumur-Champigny.

Pulenta Estate Gran Cabernet Franc 2011 - £22.95 from Winedirect.co.uk, £28 from Harvey Nichols

This Argentinian beauty is the New World Cab Franc that really made me sit up and take notice. This is ripe but so refined, with elegant, layered fruit that unfolds on the palate. A stunner, and a great demonstration of what a bright future this variety could have in Argentina. For a more wallet-friendly introduction, search out Bodega Atamisque Serbal Cabernet Franc 2015, £11.99 from New Forest Wines, Fareham Wine Cellar and The Guildford Wine Company.

If you are still in any doubt as to the quality and pedigree of Cabernet Franc, then I suggest you pick up a bottle of legendary St-Emilion producer, Château Cheval Blanc 2000 (47% Cabernet Franc, the rest Merlot) next time you’re browsing the shelves of Hedonism Wine in Mayfair. I tasted it at Cheval Blanc three years ago and it was quite sublime – and a bottle can be yours for a smidge under £1300.

Wine-ding down the Loire

When I am asked what my favourite wine region is, I pull a fast one and often say the Loire. Because of course the Loire is not really a single region at all, but a succession of them, stretching all the way from the maritime Pays Nantais that produces Muscadet, through the Chenin Blanc based wines of Anjou, the sparkling wines of Saumur, the delicious whites of Vouvray and elegant reds of Chinon and Bourgueil and the crisp Sauvignon Blancs and juicy reds of Touraine and on to the classic Sauvignon Blancs of Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé.

From one end to the other, the Loire’s wine regions produce almost every conceivable style of wine, from elegant bone dry whites, to fresh and lively sparkling wines, via sappy red wines, dry and off-dry rosés and deliciously, lusciously sweet dessert wines. You can see why I bagsy this as my favourite can’t you? It’s a region that appeals to the naturally inquisitive – and to the naturally greedy.

Autumn seems to me the perfect time of year to enjoy the Loire’s wines. There’s an affinity between the fruits of the season – ripe apples and pears, truffles and mushrooms – and the flavours of the wines. Here are some of my perennial Loire favourites and some new discoveries:

Vouvray Brut “La Dilettante” Pierre Breton NV – Excel Wines £17 (min 6 bottles), D&D wines £20.50, Caves de Pyrène £18.60

Fizz lovers, pin back thy lugs as this concerns you: sparkling Vouvray is something that you really should get acquainted with. Made from Chenin Blanc and usually on a small, artisan scale, they combine lively, fresh acidity with riper, appley fruit than you find in Champagne and a certain gentleness. Also look out for Champalou Vouvray Brut NV (£13.95 from slurp.co.uk, £16.45 at Caves de Pyrène).

Château de Fesles Chenin Sec 2011 - £13.99 (down to £10.99 from 14 October) at Waitrose

Château de Fesles is famous for its delicious sweet wines, but this dry version is pretty special too. Rich but dry, with flavours of quince and a whiff of honey. Try this with pork and apple.

Saumur Champigny, Domaine des Roches Neuves “Terres Chaudes” 2013 - £19.95 (min 6 bottles) from Excel Wines and £21.70 from Caves de Pyrène

Saumur Champigny is the name of an appellation making red wines from Cabernet Franc. Thierry Germain of Domaine des Roches Neuves is a really talented winemaker who manages to combine seriousness with enjoyment in his wines. Here you’ll find cherry and black cherry fruit with an edge of smokiness – what could be more Autumnal?

Côteaux du Layon Philippe Delesvaux “Les Clos” £18.75 for a 50cl bottle from H2Vin

If you are planning on making an apple tarte tatin any time soon, then a sweet Côteaux du Layon wine, from the versatile Chenin grape, is the perfect match. Rich baked apple fruit, with honeycomb and beeswax, but always a clean as a whistle finish thanks to crisp acidity, it’s a match made in heaven.

Loire wine lovers will want to get involved with Stars of the Loire, a month long festival celebrating some of the best wines from the region at a range of D&D restaurants such as Le Pont de la Tour, the Orrery and The Almeida in London. Wine lists at the restaurants will feature hidden gems from the Loire as well tastings and wine dinners running from now until 25 October. All the details are here: http://www.danddwine.com/campaigns-and-partnerships/loirestars/. 

Reader offer - I have a pair of tickets worth £45 each for Arts and Culture of the Loire talk and dinner hosted by Channel 4's Wendy Meakin at The Almeida on 21 October. Details of this event can be found here: http://www.danddwine.com/whats-on/events/arts-culture-of-the-loire-wine-dinner/  To be in with a chance of winning, please email me your name and postal address to heather@redwhiteandrose.co.uk. Entrants will be added to my mailing list.

Winners will be chosen at random and the usual terms and conditions apply: the offer is open to UK resident over 18s and relates to the dinner only - you will be responsible for getting to and from the venue. There is no cash equivalent and my decision is final. Closing date for entering is Friday 16th October 2015.