Loire 2014 at Ten Years: Red Wines
This second set of tasting notes from the 2014 vintage in the Loire Valley, revisited at ten years of age, pushes a gaggle of red wines into the spotlight.
Having already looked at forty white wines from the 2014 vintage, it is clear that this is a year in which the dry whites, wines made using both the early ripeners (Melon de Bourgogne and Sauvignon Blanc) and the later ripeners (principally Chenin Blanc) are extraordinarily successful. This much was evident from early tastes when visiting the region back in 2015 and 2016, and it has been reinforced by this review at ten years of age. The white wines would appeal to any drinker who is on the hunt for fruit and freshness combined, which seems to me to be the basic recipe for the majority of the world’s most enjoyable dry whites.
The season was a little more challenging for the red wines, here in the Loire as it was in Bordeaux. During August, after months of sub-optimal summer weather, many vignerons expected 2014 to turn out to be the fourth washout vintage in a row. This was before six weeks of dry and warm weather arrived at the end of the season, saving the vintage. The conditions were clearly ideal for the whites, as the phenolic maturity that was achieved was matched by fabulous freshness and acidity which was maintained through this late-summer rally. For the reds, however, it was a more knife-edge situation; would they achieve the maturity, substance, texture and balance we desire?
