Loire 2019 First Taste: The Nantais

The Nantais was hit hard by the 2019 frost, which makes three vintages out of four this region has suffered in recent times, with 2016 and 2017 having also been significantly afflicted. In recent years only 2018 has been kind to this region, and thankfully it was very kind, with many vineyards yielding good volumes as well as good quality, albeit in a fruit-rich and textured style with softer acidity. My concern coming to the 2019 vintage was that, as well as disappointingly low yields making life difficult for the vignerons, the wines might again show a richer and softer character, lacking the acid and mineral cut that can make these Atlantic wines so exciting to drink. Happily, having tasted a handsome selection of wines (only a few of which I report on here), I can conclude that this is appears not to be the case.

Before coming to the style of the wines though, I first present a round-up from across the region’s appellations and zones.

Muscadet Sèvre et Maine

In 2016 and 2017 the frost in the Muscadet appellations seemed quite patchy in its distribution, with some vignerons registering a ‘mere’ 30% loss (still a very high figure of course) while others lost the entire harvest, or as near as damn it. In 2019 the reported figures tend to cluster more tightly, with losses for the most part ranging from 30% to 50% across each domaine, although just about everybody can point to individual parcels where the damage done was greater.

Vincent and François Lieubeau of Famille Lieubeau suffered a 40% loss across the entire domaine, with two nights sticking in Vincent’s mind. “We had two difficult nights, April 4th and May 5th, but it was the first of these in April that did the most damage. Thankfully after the second frost we had dry weather throughout summer with just a little rain along the way, which allowed for good ripening, and in the end we have made quite powerful and open wines, with acceptable alcohol levels and good rather than low acidity”. Vincent was also informative regarding the warmth of the summer. “The average temperatures were typically 1ºC above the norm, so it was warm, but it wasn’t a ‘canicular’ year like we had in 2003”. As I have already mentioned in my vintage report the harvest chez Lieubeau kicked off September 9th, early but far from the earliest harvest ever. The ever-reliable Vincent had an explanation; “the frost probably put the vintage back a little, as did the dry weather. If you lack a little water the fruit ripens quickly, but if you lack a lot as we did in 2019 it slows down the maturation”.

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