Loire 2011 at Ten Years: Moelleux and Liquoreux Wines
You might imagine, after a collection of questionable whites (albeit with moments of brilliance) and a similar cohort of rather ordinary reds, that we would limp into this third and final report on the sweet wines of 2011 with an air of despondency. After all, with such a disastrous and topsy-turvy growing season, what hope could there be for those holding out to make a sweet wine?
Well, as it turned out, every hope in the world, although at the time it was not crystal clear that this was the correct path to take (is it ever?). Indeed, flurries of rain starting in late August prompted some to pick and focus on dry wines, both in the Anjou region and in Vouvray. Others, however, held on, hoping for the development of botrytis followed by the drier conditions required to concentrate the fruit.
And it turned out this gamble paid off. The conditions held, remaining largely warm and dry, and leaving the fruit on the vine for a late-harvest sweet wine allowed the phenolic ripeness (which was lagging behind after that cool and drizzly summer) and acidity levels (which were still high, for the same reason) to catch up with the climbing concentrations of sugars.
The different approaches to the vintage were embodied by the actions of the two leading domaines in Vouvray. At Domaine Huet, the action taken after the late-August rains was to pick before everything was lost to rot, and focus on producing sec and maybe sparkling wines. The team therefore made three sec cuvées, and one example each of the demi-sec and moelleux première trie cuvées, both from Le Mont. In contrast just next-door Philippe Foreau held off, and made the full portfolio of sweet wines. His confidence in the vintage became apparent when it was revealed he had produced a Goutte d’Or cuvée, essentially a quatrième tri cuvée, only the third release of this cuvée after the 1947 and 1990 vintages. That puts 2011 among the greatest of all Loire Valley vintages for sweet Vouvray.
