Loire 2014 First Taste: Anjou & Saumur
Whereas Muscadet has now enjoyed a run of successful vintages (from a qualitative point of view at least, if not a commercial one), things have not necessarily been so easy in Anjou in recent years. As far as the region’s rightly exalted sweet wines are concerned, from the Coteaux du Layon, Bonnezeaux and Quarts de Chaume appellations, there was a run of three successful vintages from 2009 to 2011, which built upon the successes seen in the superb 2007 vintage (2008 was a bit of a disappointment, although there are one or two decent wines out there). That makes four really good vintages out of five. In 2012 and 2013, however, quality took a turn for the worse. The first of these vintages was a disaster, as a deluge hit the vineyards towards the end of the harvest, immediately putting paid to any hope of making a sweet wine (for most domaines, anyway). Any grapes still on the vine when the heavens opened swelled and some even burst, sugar concentrations (and alcohol potentials) falling as the vines sucked up the copious groundwater.
As for 2013, this was a vintage that ended in a rush to pick as warm and humid conditions in late October threatened the integrity of the Chenin Blanc harvest. The situation wasn’t quite as bad as it had been in 2012, but there was still a need for multiple tries in order to obtain the best fruit (sweet wine is usually picked in tries of course, but there were more than usual in 2013), and this was followed by very careful selection. Even so, this was not a very successful vintage for sweet wines. Sadly, 2014 continues this run of difficult vintages for the sweet wine appellations, as the end of the harvest was again characterised by rain. Even so there are some good sweet wines in the offing, but quantities are set to be very small, and the style will tend towards a lighter one. This is not a vintage for the rich, liquoreux style. Even so, I think the Anjou vignerons are glad of the 2014 vintage; it is not a great vintage for the region’s sweet wines, but it was a very good year in every other respect, with excellent weather running up to and through the harvests of the Chenin Blanc for the dry whites, and also the red varieties – everything from Gamay to Côt, never mind Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon – and I am sure we will be seeing some very fine red wines in this vintage.
Unlike Muscadet, samples from the Anjou appellations are less frequently poured this soon after the harvest (although there were more 2014s poured than I expected – more thoughts on why on the next page). I provide all my tasting notes on the next page. First though, some more detailed background on the vintage.
