Loire 2008: Tasting in 2013
This tasting focuses on what I (and Claude Papin – I’m in good company) regard as the ‘true’ Loire, namely Anjou, Saumur and Touraine. Here Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc are king, and the styles diverse, and in the case of some appellations, such as Savennières, Quarts de Chaume, Vouvray, Montlouis, Saumur-Champigny and perhaps one or two others, the wines are capable of real magnificence. Flanking this Loire ‘heartland’ is on one side Muscadet, a source of excellent wines, and on the other Sancerre and the other Central vineyards, perhaps the Loire’s most famous appellations. These regions are represented in this tasting, but really as support acts rather than being top of the bill.
Anjou & Saumur
So, having dispatched with the delicious 2008 Orthogneiss from Domaine de l’Ecu, I moved onto Anjou. First up was the 2008 La Lune from Mark Angeli, I wine I found unimpressive when I tasted it at the Renaissance tasting in Angers over two years ago now, and which I committed to revisit at some point in the future. On this outing I’m happy to say I was entirely convinced, reflecting the importance of revisiting wines encountered at tastings, as I recently expounded in my report on the 2009 La Lune.
This wine was followed by four more dry whites, from some of the greats of Anjou. The 2008 Coteau des Treilles from Pithon-Paillé showed in a very consistent fashion, this wine having impressed ever since my first tasting of it several years ago now. It is rich in peach skin, pepper and acacia, with hints of exotic fruits, and in style and quality it was very similar to the wines of Richard Leroy. From Château Pierre-Bise, there came the 2008 Savennières Roche-aux-Moines, which was superb (as it usually is), being full of confident structure and a very polished style. Finally in this quartet of dry white wines both of Richard Leroy’s cuvées were lined up for assessment. The 2008 Les Rouliers from Richard Leroy was good, but was lagging behind its peers here. The 2008 Noëls de Montbenault, however, was simply fabulous. A vintage of very low yields, this latter wine showed a fabulous tension and grip, but also seemed reticent; it is very fine right now, but there are greater things to come here I think.
