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The Cream of the Loire 2004: Conclusion
With my brief profile of Henri Bourgeois my series of Loire profiles for 2004 have come to an end. As with my Loire feature for 2003, I have enjoyed it immensely. And, as with last year, I have once again realised that although the Sancerrois was my introduction to the Loire, I now find much more of interest in the Touraine and Anjou. This year the highlights were meeting Bernard Fouquet and Catherine Champalou of Domaine des Aubuisieres and Domaine Champalou respectively, two leaders of the Vouvray vignoble. Downriver, in Anjou, my visits to Chateau Bellerive and Domaine des Baumard were also both informative and productive; here are very different wines compared with Vouvray, but beautifully voluptuous (especially the former) and elegant (especially the latter).
The
Loire is not just about wine though - as I mentioned last year, it is rich in
other experiences, which may be gastronomic, cultural or otherwise. I had
several of the former, although I have not written about them in any detail on
The Winedoctor. As for culture, it is a question of balance; when travelling
with children, one has to include entertainment as well. I was surprised by how
much fun my lot found chateau visits to be; Chateau Ussé has obvious appeal
thanks to its Sleeping Beauty connotations, inevitably exploited by the
proprietors, but even Azay-le-Rideau and my old favourite Chenonceau had them
unusually interested. Their interest was piqued even further, less unexpectedly,
by a visit to the excellent Zoo de Doué-la-Fontaine.
This isn't a travel site though, so let's stick with the wine; I have no plans (at present) to return to the Loire in the near future, although if the opportunity does arise I will snap it up. It would be a wonderful opportunity to see what the vignerons of Chinon and Bourgeiul have done with the 2003 vintage; the basic cuvées are arriving on the shelves now and what I have tasted seems very promising indeed. But who knows - having recently met Etienne Hugel in Liverpool I may strike out for Alsace next; after all, it does have the highest concentration of Michelin-starred restaurants in France, outside of Paris! (29/9/04)
This series, The Cream of the Loire 2004, focuses on a small selection of the best Loire vignerons. I visited these domaines, and tasted their wines, during a visit to the Loire Valley in 2004. Articles in this series include:
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