Loire 2016 First Taste: Anjou & Saumur
Without a doubt the most diverse of the four major Ligérian regions, Anjou is a microcosm of the Loire Valley. It encapsulates both categories of terroir, with relatively youthful limestone to the east and the more ancient igneous and metamorphic forms – principally slate and schist, it has to be said – to the west. It has all the different varieties you could ask for, not just the reigning king and queen, Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc, but Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Gamay, Grolleau Noir and more. Sadly this great diversity did not serve as protection against the frost of April 2016 which laid waste to large swathes of vineyard. Site-specific features relating to terroir and aspect, perhaps more correctly altitude, made some difference, as well as perhaps variety, whites seemingly hit harder than reds in many parts, but otherwise everywhere was touched to some degree.
Spring frosts are usually radiation frosts, formed as the ground loses heat to the open sky on cloudless nights, rather than advection frosts, which are caused by the mass arrival of air blown in from colder parts. With a radiation frost comes temperature inversion, when the air at ground level is much colder than that higher up (which is why fans, like that mentioned in my Loire 2016 introduction, which can mix the air layers, can be helpful). The ground-hugging cold air will then move down the slopes, settling at the lowest point, which will become known as a frost pocket. Sadly, it seems the gently rolling landscape of Anjou has no shortage of such frost pockets.
The Anjou & Saumur Story
For Olivier Lecomte of Château de Passavant the frost was devastating in parts but some vineyards were unaffected. It all depended on location, altitude and slope. “The frost damaged the fruit at the bottom of the slopes, and once damaged the snails soon devoured what remained. We went through the vineyard, picking them off by hand. We lost 80% from one parcel of Chardonnay hit in this fashion, but other vineyards did better, and largely escaped the effects of the frost”. Yves Guégniard of Domaine de la Bergerie lost 20% of his crop, in both red and white, and like many he cited mildew as well as frost as a problem which blighted 2016. Alexandre Cady of Domaine Cady lost 5 hectares which was totally frosted, which translated into a 30% loss across the entire domaine.
