Loire 2005 at Ten Years: Red Wines
I suspect many people regard the Loire Valley as predominantly a white wine region. I know many people I meet in Bordeaux think so, although they are perhaps somewhat biased. Its red wines, however, are for me also a very significant attraction. I don’t hold with the notion that all red wines from this region should be drunk young, nor do I believe (and I know I have written this before) light, juicy, herbaceous or downright vegetal to be true to their origins. This is a region capable of turning out pure, defined, delicious red wines rich in succulent, cherry-stone fruit without a hint of green pepper or celery anywhere to be seen (or smelt, or tasted), and in this style they are still fine for drinking young if that is what you wish! The Loire Valley can, however, also give us polished, vinous, savoury wines rich in texture and tannin, enough to see out a decade or two or even three in the cellar. A strong vintage (which usually means favourable harvest weather) can help of course. What better example of this that the 2005 vintage?
In this review of the red wines of the vintage I have tried to focus on some of the bigger names and major appellations. There are of course red wines made in the Nantais, from Domaine de la Pépière and Jérémie Mourat among others, and there are red wines in Sancerre which give me increasing pleasure, and I am also drinking more and more Gamay from the vineyards of the Massif Central such as the Côte Roannaise and Côtes du Forez. Here, however, I have restricted myself to the Loire heartland of Anjou, Saumur and Touraine, where Cabernet Franc rules above all. Of course, these regions are not completely dominated by Cabernet Franc; Cabernet Sauvignon also has a role to play in the Loire Valley. Of course, most vignerons working the cool, moisture-retentive limestone and gravel terroirs on the eastern edge of Anjou, in Saumur, Bourgueil and Chinon would quite sensibly stick with Cabernet Franc for the most part. In the west of Anjou, however, the presence of warmer and drier schistose terroirs can see Cabernet Sauvignon ripen very nicely. So this variety also makes an appearance here.
The Wines
Mark Angeli of La Ferme de la Sansonnière makes this point very nicely with his Anjou Rouge Les Jeunes Vignes de Gélinettes, made from Cabernet Sauvignon. Mark has a cult following, and although this wine will no doubt be popular with those followers the straight Anjou-Villages Brissac from Domaine des Rochelles, where we have turned back to Cabernet Franc again, was to my mind superior. Top dog here though was the Anjou-Villages Brissac La Croix de Mission from the same domaine, a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc. It is wines like this that really made me realise that, although Cabernet Franc rules in the Loire Valley, there is a little enclave-kingdom in Anjou where Cabernet Sauvignon perhaps challenges this supremacy.
