Wine with Leslie Williams: Selecting stars of the Loire
My job drinking (sorry ‘tasting’) for a living has its upsides.
The downside is I rarely drink anything without thinking too much. The more interesting the wine the more there is to think about but like few in my job I enjoy being confronted with 30 sauvignon blancs at a trade event.
Sauvignon blanc is Ireland’s favourite grape variety and I’m convinced this is partly because it is so easy to understand. It is the Taylor Swift of grapes, perfectly pleasant to be around, easy on the palate (eye/ear) and with few complexities that will tax your brain. I don’t think Taylor is devoid of complexity, you just have to look hard to find it. Same with sauvignon.
Pascal Jolivet is one of the stars of the Loire and at a recent tasting declared: ‘I don’t make sauvignon blanc wines, I make Sancerre!’ There is a world of difference between an €8 Chilean crowd-pleaser sauvignon and a textured terroir-focused Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé from the hands of a talented winemaker.
Jolivet was born 10 minutes from Sancerre and Pouilly-sur-Loire and refuses to pledge allegiance to either. Sancerre is 3,000 hectares on the left bank and Pouilly is 1,000 hectares on the right, Sancerre is 2km inland with more hills, more chalk and Kimmeridgian soils and is cooler; Pouilly is closer to the river and gets more rain. The grey (ash-like) bloom on the leaves caused by the extra humidity is one guess at where the word ‘fumé’ originates.
Vineyard management is virtually identical however, but winemakers vary so to properly detect the differences you need to taste a Pouilly and a Sancerre from the same producer. Sancerre often has a little more depth while Pouilly has more fragrance but both can be charming, they can also of course be uninspiring and dull. These regions are hugely popular so buy with caution. I very rarely mention an inexpensive or supermarket version of either wine. The same goes for chablis.
Good Sancerre is not cheap so for a similar hit look to Menetou-Salon, Reuilly, Côteaux du Giennois or plain old IGP Val de Loire. Selections this week are all from the Loire with three from the chenin-blanc-cabernet-franc western Loire and three from the east. All are just a few hours drive from Cherbourg or Roscoff.
BEST VALUE UNDER €15
O’Briens shops nationwide – Rathgar, Douglas, Beacon, etc
Langlois Château is run by the Bollinger family and standards are high. The village of Saumur-Champigny competes with Chinon as arguably the best red region of the Loire. Juicy bright red fruits mixed with touches of blackcurrant leaf and a hint of earthiness, lively and fresh and perfect for summer drinking — fruity enough to drink without food.
O’Briens
An excellent price on this fairly benchmark Muscadet, a wine style back in fashion these days especially as standards have jumped in recent years. Bright, mineral and sea salt scented, crisp and fresh with a light citrus and green apple character — perfect for some shellfish or oysters.
M&S
Vouvray is one of the world’s great white wine regions producing excellent dry, semi-dry and dessert wines as well as decent sparkling wine yet very little seems to be available here. This was specially selected by M&S winemaker Belinda Kleinig who worked with the winemaker — perfect as an aperitif or with cheese.
BEST VALUE OVER €15
Salthill Liquor Store, On The Grapevine, The Corkscrew, Blackrock Cellars, Independents
Grapes for this are sourced from good sites throughout the Loire and are given a long slow wild yeast fermentation to bring out the aromatics. Tropical tinged fruit aromas with a touch of lemon essence and boiled sweets, creamily textured fruits on the palate but with balancing crisp acidity.
As above
I slightly preferred Jolivet’s Pouilly Fumé to his Sancerre — the latter being creamy and intense with prickles of lemony acidity balancing the ripe fruit. The Pouilly Fumé has more grapefruit flavours, more zest and lime-tinged purity balancing out the textured dried limes and creamy apple fruits. Try this with a whole Black Sole served with a beurre blanc sauce.
Gibneys, Karwigs Carrigaline, Corkscrew
The Côteaux du Giennois is on the far eastern edge of the Loire Valley, northeast of Sancerre/Pouilly-Fumé with similar soils — there is some value to be had from this lesser known region (eg, SuperValu’s Alchimie). This has pristine lime and grapefruit aromas, zingy acidity and freshness and admirable mineral purity.
Contact Leslie Williams at wine@examiner.ie
