Loire 2013 at Ten Years

In the second such report to be published this year I come, following my review of the wines of 2013 Bordeaux at Ten Years published a few months ago, to the 2013 vintage in the Loire Valley.

I approached the wines of 2013 Bordeaux with a sense of trepidation. Even in a tasting dripping with first growths and famous labels, the wines were pale shadows of what that region should offer. Doubly so when one adjusts one’s lunettes and is able to focus on the digits printed on the price sticker. So what hope is there for the wines of the Loire?

Different region, you might say. Different soils. Different styles. Different expectations. Not to mention different price tags (although, is it just me, or have the prices of the top Loire wines increased in leaps and bounds in the last couple of years?). Much of this is true, but the truth is that climate forms a common thread that connects these two regions and, speaking particularly of the red wines, the success of a vintage in Bordeaux is often mirrored in the Loire (and vice versa). There are exceptions of course (2000 Loire does not have the reputation of 2000 Bordeaux, for example) and nuances (2016 is one of the stronger of recent vintages in Bordeaux, whereas in the Loire perhaps 2015 and 2018 are superior, and so on) but drawing inferences from one region about the other certainly has some validity. And so it is not unwise to be apprehensive about 2013.

I remember tasting the Cabernet Franc reds early on, back in 2014 and 2015, and they were fairly light, inconsequential wines. Other varieties did better though (another important distinction that separates the two regions is that there is a much broader spread of varieties here) and Central Vineyard Pinot Noir reds certainly did better than Anjou and Touraine Cabernet Francs. On the whole, however, this was a vintage when it was clear that the white wines, both dry and sweet, were going to be the most interesting (although far from perfect). Rather like Bordeaux, then.

In this report on the wines of the 2013 vintage in the Loire Valley I check in on 30 wines retasted at ten years of age, and assess exactly how this vintage has turned out. First, though, a few words of recap on the vintage.

Vintage Recap

The first few months of the year passed without climactic upset, but in May relatively cool and damp weather – with temperatures as much as 2ºC below average – slowed growth and interfered with flowering. The disappointing weather continued through June, the vines continued to lag behind, and the month brought disaster for many in Vouvray when the 17th saw a destructive hailstorm pass over the vineyards of Rochecorbon, Vouvray, Vernou-sur-Brenne, Chançay and Reugny (only Noizay, upriver, really escaped). Approximately two-thirds of the appellation was affected, and some lost a huge percentage of their crop in the process, most obviously François Pinon (pictured below, back in 2014, when we tasted his 2013 together), who come October would bring in a tiny crop, just enough to produce a single cuvée. Some vines in Cravant-les-Coteaux (in the Chinon appellation), Bourgueil and the Coteaux du Vendômois were also hit.
Things picked up in July when the thermometer swung in completely the opposite direction and temperatures were suddenly well above the average. August and September were less torrid but drier, and hopes were perhaps raised, and many vignerons hung on in the hope of improved maturity, but in early October the weather broke.

The temperatures gradually declined, and during the second week of October there was rain and the temperatures climbed again, the warmer and wet conditions now bringing the threat of rot. Picking of the early-ripening varieties was already underway, and quickly picked up the pace, many finishing in about two-thirds the usual time. Picking of Cabernet Franc and other red varieties got underway, most vignerons now accepting that the vintage was not going to be the success perhaps they had hoped for.

The wines often had better phenolic than technical ripeness, so potential alcohols were low, and this was a vintage in which a not insignificant number of vignerons – even habitual avoiders of this practice – resorted to chaptalisation (for many vignerons, ten years on, this was the most recent vintage in which they chaptalised). As for Chenin Blanc, conscientious vignerons picked the latter in tries, in an attempt to eke out as much ripeness as possible. And as noted above, rot was indeed a problem, although not widespread; it was not another 2011.

Despite the inclement weather, a number of vignerons along the banks of the Layon left fruit out on the vine in the hope of botrytis and the drier, breezier conditions that would induce a clean concentration. They must have had all fingers and toes crossed. Whatever they did it worked, because a number of them were able to make a later picking for Coteaux du Layon and Quarts de Chaume, although typically bringing in very small quantities. Don’t bother looking for serious sweet wines in Vouvray or Montlouis-sur-Loire though; after hail in the former, and the inclement weather, growers picked what they had for dry or sparkling.

In the end the vintage produced a slew of potentially interesting white wines (from all varieties), some rather wan reds (specially where the Cabernets were concerned, although I recall a surprisingly drinkable Anjou Rouge judged blind for the Decanter World Wine Awards a few years later – there are always exceptions to any rule!) and some hard-won, small-volume but nevertheless worthwhile sweet wines.

The Tasting

As in previous years this selection of wines has been pulled from my own cellar. As such they tend to reflect the growers whose wines I admire or follow, although there are also a few bottles acquired solely for curiosity value (I shall leave readers to decide which might be which).

This was a vintage for white wines, and the tasting focuses on the full gamut of Loire styles, touching on Muscadet (both sur lie and cru communal wines), Anjou Blanc (or at least its Vin de France equivalent) and Savennières, the whites of Saumur and Chinon, Vouvray, Montlouis-sur-Loire, Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. There is even a lone example of Cour-Cheverny. Muscadet makes a strong showing; who knew ten-year-old Muscadet could be so good? Well, to be honest, I have long believed this, but it is good to have the wisdom of one’s strange proclivities reaffirmed from time to time!

A couple of domaines are notable for their absence; no Vincent Carême, for example, and I don’t recall why I did not pick up a few bottles during one of my many visits to Vouvray and to the domaine. I must have only flitted through the region during my visits.

As always the tasting was conducted with labels visible, over several weeks, enjoying (mostly!) the wines reported on from the pulling of cork to the moment the last drop was drained. This allows me to dive into within the wine and find every nuance, both good and bad. It also means my notes are more wordy than is the norm. As in previous years, my apologies in advance for that.

On the next page I present all my notes, starting with the Muscadets of Domaine de la Pépière (among others), ending with a Quarts de Chaume from an old favourites, Château Bellerive and Château Pierre-Bise. (26/9/23)