Loire 2014 at Three Years: Red Wines
The 2014 vintage was a ‘saved’ vintage, one in which the acid-preserving effects of a cool summer were offset by the warmth of an Indian summer, and it was this latter aspect of the season that gave the wines generosity, texture, ripeness of fruit and structure. In this respect some parallels can be drawn between the red wines of the Loire Valley and those of Bordeaux, where the vintage is marked by fresh fruit and bright acidity following a very similar growing season. The wines of the Loire Valley tend to show the same style in this vintage, and it is really at the upper end of the quality scale that the red wines show the necessary concentration of fruit, texture and substance they need to balance out the pervasive acid backbone of the vintage. Just as, in my opinion, they do in Bordeaux.
As a consequence some of the entry-level wines in the 2014 vintage can seem a little shrill. While the flavours are still ripe, at this level the wines can lack a little substance or texture, and within this lean frame the acidity can stand out in a fairly incongruous fashion on the palate. At the top end, however, the wines can be truly excellent, with substance but also freshness and energy, and with that firm acid-driven structure they should age very nicely. In short, while the 2014 vintage is particularly strong for white wines (which seem to me to be slightly superior to the richer, softer, occasionally more alcoholic style found in 2015 and 2016), it is not the strongest of the three vintages for red wines. I see broader success and also more potential for greatness in the 2015 vintage, and perhaps also 2016, than I see in 2014. Whereas I think you can buy the white wines of this vintage blind and probably enjoy what you find, with the 2014 reds I think it is wise to be a little more selective. Go for the top names, and the top cuvées.
The Wines
For my palate it is the promise of great red wines that has me so excited about the 2014, 2015 and 2016 vintages. I am not sure that the selection of wines presented here adequately reflects the true potential of the vintage though. There are super wines for drinking, such as the 2014 Anjou-Villages Brissac La Croix de Mission from Domaine des Rochelles, the 2014 Chinon Les Chiens-Chiens from Domaine de la Noblaie and the 2014 Côtes du Forez Poycelan from Verdier-Logel, my top three picks from this line up. Nevertheless, I know I have tasted greater wines in this vintage, including upper-class cuvées from Domaine de la Noblaie, Bernard Baudry, Charles Joguet, Philippe Alliet and Couly-Dutheil. They simply either haven’t arrived in my cellar yet, or I haven’t had the opportunity to open a bottle yet.
