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Charles Sydney: Loire Vintage Report 2009

Charles Sydney always provides some information and entertainment at this time of year with his annual report on the quality of the harvest. Loire vintage summaries are difficult to track down and so I am archiving his opinions on this site. Bear in mind though that Charles and his wife Philippa work in the wine trade, as advisors and courtiers, helping vignerons and brokering deals, and so there is usually a very positive air to these reports. Nevertheless they remain incredibly valuable as snapshots of the vintage, but please do bear this in mind when reading. (21/10/09)

Over to Charles:

Phil and I thought it was about time to update you on the harvest out here in the Loire Valley...

... which is looking quite remarkably good - a great tonic for the depression!

To all intents and purposes, all Muscadet and Sauvignons are now in and picking has just started for the Chenins in Vouvray and for the reds**.

After a great summer, the four days of mist and rain mid-September were most welcome, helping re-start vegetation that had all but stalled after the dry heat of August and September.

Depending on who you talk to, Muscadet looks either like 1989, 1997 or maybe 2005. That's putting the harvest on a par with the best vintages Phil and I have ever seen. Great ripeness, fruit and balance, with yields that are pretty well back to normal.

As for the Sauvignons, well...except Menetou, Quincy and the Giennois (which were all but zapped by hail), it's pretty well perfect, though yields across Pouilly and parts of Sancerre (the Chêne Marchand in Bué for instance) are as low as they were last year.

It's a beautiful harvest all the way along the river, promising some of the best Sauvignons we've seen in years.

Oh - and the Malbecs are looking good too (so keep your fingers crossed for our new La Grille line - we've at last found a Loire Malbec for the range)!

Hope that all makes sense and that you like the attached pictures (such as the ripe Melon de Bourgogne, shown right) - and looking forward to showing you the wines when they're made.

 - Charles & Philippa

** We'll keep you informed on these - fingers are very firmly crossed!