Loire 2017 First Taste: The Nantais
This is the second consecutive vintage in this region to have suffered extensive frost damage, and I have already described how the cold air mass moved down from Normandy to the Loire Valley, before turning westwards, and subsequently sweeping across the vineyards of the Nantais, in my 2017 Loire weather report. Here I focus on how the vignerons responded to what were really freak weather conditions, a devastating frost on April 26th, together with some comments on the rest of the growing season and the harvest in this corner of the valley, and of course I conclude with a selection of recently penned tasting notes.
Muscadet Sèvre et Maine
The vignerons of Muscadet Sèvre et Maine were worst hit. Frédéric Niger of Domaine de l’Ecu essentially lost his entire crop, declaring 98% frost damage. It is at times like these you find out who your real friends are, and presumably Frédéric can count Benoît Landron, of Domaine Landron-Chartier in Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire, among that number. Despite having lost a significant portion of his own crop to the frost, Frédéric told me that Benoît donated a parcel of Gamay to Frédéric for him to pick. Is there likely to be a more noble act in this vintage? Probably not, although in truth Frédéric has cast his net much wider in the search for fruit in this vintage. He is a member of a group of vignerons who endeavour to supply each other with grapes in the event disasters such as this, and having picked just 3 hl/ha in 2017 he is understandably making good use of his membership. As well as Gamay from Benoît, Frédéric’s portfolio currently includes a Grenache-Syrah blend from the Rhône Valley and a Vermentino from Tuscany, both of which were beyond the borders of the Loire Valley last time I checked.
The Luneau-Papin family reported significant losses on many of their vineyards, although those vines on the Butte de la Roche survived, no doubt as the freezing cold air settled on the marshy plain below. Christelle Guibert of Vine Revival also lost a significant percentage of her crop, bringing in less than 10 hl/ha from her tiny vineyard, giving her an insufficient volume to fill the sole cement egg in which she vinifies the Terre de Gneiss cuvée. Vincent and François of Famille Lieubeau reported a 40% loss, while Rémi and Jean-Jacques Bonnet of Domaine Bonnet-Huteau lost 80% of their crop in the 2017 frost, a figure which sadly matches that which they lost to frost and mildew in the 2016 vintage.
