Back to the Future: The Central Vineyards, 2026. The 2023 Vintage
In this instalment of my 2026 focus on the Central Vineyards I present the second of three collections of tasting notes on the wines of this region to be published this year. In this report I focus on the 2023 vintage.
To read my introduction to this report, which pays particular attention to how the region has grown, and to the changes I have witnessed here during the course of the last three decades, see Back to the Future: The Central Vineyards. Other reports presented alongside this one move the spotlight onto other vintages; these include a look at the 2024 vintage with more than 40 tasting notes, and a concluding look at 2022 and older vintages, with more than 60 tasting notes (latter instalment to be published tomorrow).
This instalment, however, is the largest of the three, with well over 100 tasting notes on the 2023 vintage presented lower down the page.
First though, as you might expect, a recap of the 2023 vintage – one of the more complicated seasons in the Loire Valley in recent years – is warranted.
The 2023 Vintage
Following the heat and drought of the 2022 vintage in the Central Vineyards, 2023 offered a different prospect, one not without its challenges. The winter was cold and wet, but conditions changed markedly from February onwards as temperatures rose and spring arrived early. The weather was relatively dry, placing a surprisingly early pressure on water reserves, but this was rectified by rainfall at the end of April.
Budbreak occurred around the middle of April, broadly in line with the ten-year average, but the combination of rising temperatures and renewed rainfall subsequently encouraged rapid vegetative growth. Of course, these were also ideal conditions for mildew, requiring growers to be vigilant with their treatments; regular spraying paid dividends while anyone who took their eye off the ball paid the price. Thankfully this situation did not persist forever; the threat was eased as drier weather returned, as May turned to June. And the flowering was essentially perfect, setting the scene for a generous crop.
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