The regions
The Loire
The Loire region really refers to half of the Loire - that part from around the beautiful village of Sancerre where the Loire stops flowing towards the north and heads, instead, westwards towards the Atlantic Ocean. By the time it gets to Sancerre, the Loire has already travelled hundreds of miles from its source in the mountains of the Ardeche.
After it reaches Sancerre it passes through major cities such as Orleans, Tours, Angers and, finally, Nantes.
Around Sancerre the favoured grapes are Sauvignon Blanc (for the steely whites made here) and Pinot Noir for the lovely reds (remember Sancerre is not all that far from Burgundy). As the river begins its journey westwards, Chardonnay is blended with Sancerre for white wines in the area around Tours known as the Touraine. Red wines begin to be made from Cabernet Franc, but others are made from Gamay or a blend of Gamay and Pinot Noir to produce delicious, fresh, food-friendly wines.
As the Loire approaches the city of Angers dry and sweet white wines made from the Chenin Blanc grape are found. Some of these are majestic wines that last for decades particularly those from the tiny appellation of Savennieres. Between Tours and Angers much of the red wine is made from Cabernet Franc although some Cabernet Sauvignon is also found in blends of the two Cabernets.
Past Nantes the hills disappear and we are on vast plains of the Loire delta. It is here that the Fiefs Vendeens appellation almost clings to the sea and white wines from Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc or pure Chenin Blanc have a salty tang that makes them a perfect for the seafood of the area. Some intriguing reds are also produced here, particularly those from Pinot Noir or the rare grape found only here and in the Fronton appellation to the south called Negrette.
The Southern Rhone
The southern Rhone is an intriguing wine region which includes some of the greatest wines produced in France.
We are constantly amazed by the quality and power of the wines that are available from the plains and slopes bordering the mighty Rhone.
The key to understanding the wines is to appreciate the interaction of the appellations that are spread across this confined area of the southern Rhone.
There is a hierarchy that is important. The lowest level of the hierarchy is the Vin de Pays such as the Vin de Pays de Vaucluse where the wine does not have to meet the requirements of the more high profile appellations of the area. The next level is the Cotes du Rhone which applies to a vast area extending beyond the Vaucluse. Next is the Cotes du Rhone Villages appellation which covers some seventy villages in the region which are permitted to append this slightly more prestigious appellation to their wines.
The next level involves certain 'named' villages which can be used on the label. These include Seguret, Valreas, Visan among others.
At the top of the pyramid are the areas that can give their own names to their wines. The finest in the region is Chateauneuf-du-Pape. But there are others that can display the name of the area such as Gigondas, Vacqueyras and the recently adopted Beaumes-de-Venise.
Beaujolais
Beaujolais is technically part of Burgundy and lies to the south of that region and just north west of the city of Lyon. The primary grape here is Gamay.
Great Beaujolais is remarkably food friendly and also represents amazingly good value.
There is an appellation called Beaujolais that covers the entire area and then there is a Beaujolais Villages appellation where certain villages have the right to adopt this appellation.
In addition, there are ten special crus or sub-appellations that only display the name of the cru on the bottle, such as Morgon, Fleurie or Côte de Brouilly. The best wines from these crus are remarkable and particularly good with food.
White, red and rose wines are permitted in Beaujolais. White wines can only be made from the Chardonnay grape, no blending is permitted. Rose and reds use Gamay as the principal grape, but other varieties are permitted to be blended with the Gamay including Chardonnay, Aligoté, Gamay de Bouze, Gamay de Chaudenay, Melon de Bourgogne, Pinot Gris and Pinot Nor.
Burgundy
Burgundy is one of the best known and little understood appellations in France. It is very extensive ranging from the southern border of the Champagne appellation down through Chablis, through the famous Burgundy appellations south of Dijon such as Corton Charlemagne and Romanee Conti past the town of Beaune and then on to areas such as Pouilly Fuisse, the Macon and finally in the very south to Beaujolais.
Throughout the appellation Pinot Noir is the main grape for reds and Chardonnay for whites, but there are perhaps a dozen or more grapes that are legally able to be used in some proportion in wines produced here.
Burgundy is well known because of appellations such as the reds of Romanee Conti and La Romanee along with the massive whites of Corton Charlemagne. However, it is sometimes wines from many of the dozens and dozens of other appellations scattered within Burgundy that might surprise and delight you. For example the soft, elegant reds from Chambolle-Musigny are well worth exploring. The whites from Chitry on the edge of the Chablis region are flinty, minerally and delicious.
Some whites are made from 100% Melon de Bourgogne, a grape found only in tiny quantities in Burgundy these days. And then there is the Passetoutgrain wines which are a blend of Pinot Noir and Gamay that have a similar weight to the reds of the Loire Valley.
So there is much to explore here and we think that the Chablis and Chitry wines of Alice and Olivier de Moor perfectly capture the spirit of the northern part of Burgundy and Fanny Sabre who produces wines in the Pommard, Beaune and Savigny-les-Beaune appellations as well as a generic Bourgogne white and red are well worth getting to know.